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OUR GOVERNMENT 


LOCAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL 































































































































OUR GOVERNMENT 


LOCAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL 


BY 

J. A. JAMES, Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 

AND 

A. H. SANFORD, M.A. 

PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, STEVENS POINT, 

WISCONSIN 


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NEW YORK 

CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS 

1904 


nt rjONGBFSS 

Two Onwies Rerftfved 

SEP 1 1904 

Ootjyrfffht Entry 
CLASS XXo. No. 
COPY B 

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COPYRIGHT, 1903, BY 
CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS 


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PREFACE. 


The subject-matter herewith presented partially repre¬ 
sents the plan pursued by the authors as teachers of civil 
government for a number of years in high school, academy, 
and normal school. It has been found that a study of the 
methods by which the affairs of government are conducted 
gives constant interest to the work, and, consequently, the 
practical side of government has been emphasized. But 
while our desire has been to bring the actual working of 
the institutions under which the student lives into promi¬ 
nence, we have also attempted to give such accounts of the 
origin and early development of forms of government as 
will assist in explaining their process of growth. The plan 
of discussion is similar to that followed in “ Government 
in State and Nation.” The general favor with which that 
text has been received leads to the belief that it fully meets 
the requirement of the Committee of Seven for such schools 
as present civil government in the third or fourth year of 
the course. In many cases, however, the subject is taught 
earlier in the course, and the present work has been pre¬ 
pared in answer to the requests of teachers for a text 
suitable to this class of students. 

The arrangement is such that either Local (Part I), 
National (Part II), or State Government (Part III) may 
be studied first. In the work on local and State govern¬ 
ment it is not expected that the student will learn all of 
the different practices found in the various States, but that 
he will compare them with those of his own State. 


VI 


PREFACE. 


While some of the discussions and many of the sugges¬ 
tive questions are intended to make students realize more 
completely their duties as citizens, many more having a 
local bearing will occur to teachers. It is scarcely to be 
hoped that all of the books and magazines mentioned will 
be found in any high school library, but the need for sup¬ 
plementary reading is being met through the rapid increase 
of public libraries. A working library on the subject of 
civics may be accumulated in a short time if only a few 
of the books given in Appendix C are procured each year. 
No attempt has been made to give references to all of the 
material which has appeared within the past few years. 

The ability of the reader and the time to be devoted to 
the subject have been kept constantly in mind. There 
may be more supplementary questions and references than 
can be used by any one class. Should it happen, on the 
other hand, that more work of this character is desired, 
the need may'be met by reference to similar questions in 
“ Government in State and Nation.” 

We are under obligation to Miss Carla F. Sargent of 
Northwestern University Academy who read a large part 
of the manuscript. We also take this opportunity of 
acknowledging the assistance given by many teachers 
of civics, strangers to us, who are using “ Government in 
State and Nation,” for their helpful suggestions. 


Evanston, Illinois, 
May i, 1903. 


CHAPTER 

I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 


V. 

VI. 
VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 
XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 


CONTENTS. 

PART I. 

The Work of Local Government . 

County Government.. 

The Origin of Local Governments 

The Government of Cities. 

PART II. 

Events leading to the Formation of the Union 
The Constitutional Convention . 

Organization of the Legislative Department . 
Powers and Duties of the Separate Houses 
How Laws are made by Congress . 

Some Important Powers of Congress . 

Other General Powers of Congress . 

Powers denied the United States and the Sev¬ 
eral States . 

The Executive Department. 

Powers and Duties of the President . 

The Cabinet. 

The National Judiciary. 

Territories and Public Lands .... 
Amendments to the Constitution .... 

The Governments of the World .... 

vii 


PAGE 

I 

7 

13 

x 9 


32 

40 

50 

66 

73 

83 

98 

hi 

XI 5 

131 

141 

x 5 6 

165 

175 

179 





Vlll 


CONTENTS, 


PART III. 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XX. The Origin of State Governments . . . 186 

XXI. State Legislatures. 191 

XXII. State Executive and Administrative Depart¬ 
ments . 199 

APPENDIX. 

A. Constitution of the United States . . . 207 

B. The Articles of Confederation .... 224 

INDEX ..233 


* 




PART I. 


LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 

CHAPTER I. 

THE WORK OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 

I 

The Preservation of Order. — The first and most impor¬ 
tant function of any government is the preservation of 
order. We think of this function most frequently as exer¬ 
cised in the arrest of offenders who violate the law. In 
fact, most young persons receive their earliest ideas of 
government by seeing that embodiment of governmental 
authority, the policeman, or constable. But he is not the 
only officer who is concerned in the preservation of order. 
The police officer who makes an arrest cannot punish his 
prisoner, but must merely hold him until it is decided that 
he deserves punishment. This is the work of a court, 
with its justice, or judge, and the jury. If the prisoner is 
declared guilty, then the police officer executes the orders 
of the court by collecting a fine or by imprisoning him. 
We have here illustrated two divisions of governmental 
authority: (i) the judicial , which decides whether the law 
applies in particular cases; and (2) the executive , which 
carries out the requirements of the law and the orders of 
the court. 


1 


2 


LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


Law-making.—The executive and the judicial officers 
are both subject to higher authority: the one applies and 
the other executes the law. The framing of the law con¬ 
stitutes the third function of government. This is the work 
of legislation, carried on by such bodies as the town board, 
the village board, and the city council. But these law¬ 
making bodies do not possess independent authority; they 
are bound more or less strictly by the opinions of those 
who elected them to office; i.e. the body of voters. 

The Three Divisions of Government. — We say, then, 
that in our country government is based finally upon the 
zvill of the people. For the expression of their will they 
choose numerous officers, who may be grouped under three 
heads, corresponding to the general divisions of govern¬ 
ment: legislative, executive, and judicial. 

Just as it would be impossible for all the voters to take part in 
applying or interpreting the law, so it is in most cases impossible for 
them to assemble in a body and make the laws. They generally dele¬ 
gate this work to legislators; but in some States the voters of a town 
(or township) assemble yearly in town meeting, where all may take 
part in discussion and in voting. 

Roads and Streets. — The preservation of order is but 
one of the functions of government. In towns where the 
population is scattered, roads must be built, and it is still 
more necessary that in villages and cities, where many 
people live within a small area, streets should be graded 
and paved and sidewalks maintained. This is an illustra¬ 
tion of the way in which, through the machinery of govern¬ 
ment, people provide themselves with many conveniences 
that it would be impossible for each citizen to provide for 


THE WORK OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 


3 


himself. The legislative bodies already mentioned deter¬ 
mine the extent to which these things shall be done: the 
town board orders the laying out of a new road; the vil¬ 
lage board or the city council passes ordinances saying 
what streets shall be paved and what materials shall be 
used in the work. 

Executive Officers, General and Special. — The actual 
execution of the work involved in public improvements 
is generally in charge of a special officer, such as the road 
or street commissioner. But since there are many other 
matters cf public concern that require attention, each 
under the control of an executive officer, it is necessary 
that a general officer should be in authority over all of 
these as the chief executive of the local government. This 
officer is known by various titles, as, in the town the 
chairman , in the village the president , and in the city the 
mayor. In any case, he has all or most of the important 
executive work of government under his control. It is his 
duty to see that the laws are obeyed, so the police officers 
are subject to his orders. The chief executive is guardian 
of the people’s interests; for he must see that the minor 
officers do not injure the public welfare by neglect of duty, 
and he must defend the public from all persons who would 
encroach upon its rights. 

Let us now consider some of the other ordinary func¬ 
tions of local government. 

The Poor. — Poor relief may be mentioned first. How 
much aid shall be granted to paupers, and how shall it be 
distributed, are questions that everywhere require attention. 


4 


LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


Public Health. — Public health is also an important sub¬ 
ject upon which local laws must be enacted. In cities, 
particularly, the council passes strict regulations for pre¬ 
venting the occurrence of diseases and for checking the 
spread of such as are contagious. City ordinances are 
also enacted regulating the construction of sewers and 
drains. The health commissioner and the city physicians 
are the particular officers who direct the execution of laws 
upon these subjects. 

Education. — Public education is among the most impor¬ 
tant of the local government’s functions. The free schools 
which exist everywhere in our country are supported and 
controlled chiefly by the towns, villages, and cities. In many 
States, however, there are other divisions, called school dis¬ 
tricts, which have boards and officers for this purpose. 

Other Necessary Functions. — Protection from fire is so 
important in communities where population is dense that 
special officers and apparatus must be provided. So, too, 
streets must be lighted, and a pure water-supply provided. 

Parks, Museums, and Libraries. — Besides the functions 
of government that are readily seen to be necessary, there 
are others which may not at first appear to be so. We 
have cities providing parks, with beautiful lawns and 
flower-gardens; museums, where articles of historical and 
scientific interest are kept; aquariums and zoological 
gardens; libraries, with books, magazines, and papers for 
the free use of all citizens. If one looks closely, he will 
see a reason in each case why the government undertakes 
these various enterprises. 


THE WORK OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 


5 


Why Taxes are Levied. — We have now to consider a 
power of government, without which none of the others 
so far enumerated could be exercised. This is the taxing 
power. In every instance money must be used by local 
governments in exercising their functions. Officers, who 
are agents of the people, depend largely upon taxes for 
their salaries. Taxes are levied by the legislative bodies 
that we have found in towns, villages, and cities. Other 
officers, assessors and treasurers , determine the amount to 
be paid by each citizen and collect the taxes. The treas¬ 
urer also has custody of public money, and pays it out 
when ordered to do so by the proper authorities. 

All of the operations of government are matters of 
record. While each officer is expected to keep strict ac¬ 
count of the operations of his own department, the general 
records of towns, villages, and cities are kept by the clerks . 

This general view of local governments may now be 
summarized in two forms : — 

I. The Functions of Local Government. 

1. Protection: — 

The preservation of order. 

Protection against fire. 

Protection of public health. 

2 . Providing Necessities and Conveniences : — 

Roads — Streets — Sidewalks. 

Water — Lights — Sewers. 

Poor relief — Education. 

Parks — Libraries — Museums. 


6 


LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


II. Officers of Local Government . 1 


TOWN. 

Board 
Chairman 
Clerk 
Treasurer 
Assessors 
Constables 
Road Commis¬ 
sioner 
J ustices 


VILLAGE. 

Board 
President 
Clerk 
Treasurer 
Assessors 
Constables 
Street Commis¬ 
sioner 
J ustices 


CITY. 

Council 

Mayor 

Clerk 

Treasurer 

Assessors 

Police 

Street Commis¬ 
sioner 
J ustices 


SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS. 

Make a study of your local (town, village, or city) government. 

1. Group the officers as legislative, executive, and judicial, respec¬ 

tively. 

2. How many different methods are used in paying these officers ? 

3. Do all the voters ever assemble to make laws ? If not, how is the 

will of the majority expressed ? 

4. What are some of the local regulations regarding the poor? 2 pub¬ 

lic health ? protection from fire ? 

5. Who pays for the education that young people receive in the public 

schools ? 

6. How much has your local government done toward furnishing 

things that are not merely conveniences? How do you justify 
expenditures for these purposes ? 

7. Does the management of local government excite as much inter¬ 

est among the citizens as it should? 

8. In what ways are students directly interested in having efficient 

local governments? 

1 The list here given is not complete, and the official titles are not the 
same in all States. 

2 For a general account under this topic, see James and Sanford, “ Govern¬ 
ment in State and Nation,” Chapter VIII. Health regulations are discussed 
in the same work, pp. 98 and 99. 


CHAPTER II. 


COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 

Why there are Counties. — If the local organizations 
discussed in the preceding chapter could attend to all the 
interests that citizens have in common, then government 
would be a much simpler matter than it is. But just as 
almost every citizen has business and social relations out¬ 
side of the immediate vicinity in which he lives, so differ¬ 
ent communities must have political relations with each 
other if they are to live in harmony. For this and other 
reasons, which we shall learn presently, county govern¬ 
ments are instituted. Their organization and functions 
correspond quite closely to those of the towns, villages, 
and smaller cities. 

Important County Officers. — The local governments can¬ 
not undertake alone the preservation of order or the protec¬ 
tion of citizens against criminals. We have, consequently, 
an important officer, the sheriff , who with his deputies has 
power to make arrests. There is also the judicial side of 
county governments, seen in the court , with its judge. In 
this court another county officer, called the district or 
State's attorney , prosecutes persons who are accused of 
crime; i.e. he finds and presents in the trial evidence 
of the prisoner’s guilt. 


7 


8 


LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


Functions of County Government. — Public highways are 
also matters of more than local concern. When an expen¬ 
sive bridge is to be built, or an important road in which 
several communities are interested is to be constructed, 
the county government can best raise the money and 
manage the work. So, too, in caring for the poor, the 
county may aid the local governments, or it may assume 
entire charge of the paupers, and maintain a poorhouse. 

The County Board. — It is evident that there must be 
a legislative body which shall determine the policy of the 
county in these matters. This is the county board , or as it 
is called in some States, the county court. In most States 
this body is composed of commissioners. These are elected 
by either of two methods: (i) at large, when every voter 
may vote for the entire number of commissioners; (2) they 
may be elected from districts into which the county has 
been divided. In some States the members of the county 
board are called supervisors , and they represent the towns, 
villages, and wards of cities. Under this system the county 
board is generally larger than under the commissioner sys¬ 
tem. There is another difference between the two systems : 
in the States that have county commissioners, the county 
government has more extensive functions than in the other 
States. That is, county government has almost entire con¬ 
trol of such matters as roads and poor relief, leaving the 
local governments with little authority in these directions. 
On the other hand, where the supervisor system exists, the 
towns and villages have chief authority in legislating upon 
these matters, and the county assists or takes only such 
part as it finds necessary for the general good. 


COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 


9 


Power of the Board. — The county board holds annual 
meetings and legislates for the county as a whole. It has 
charge of the county property, including the court-house, 
jail, and poorhouse. Since it must provide for the ex¬ 
pense of maintaining these buildings, for the salaries of 
county officers, and for other expenses connected with 
roads, poor, and other county business, the board must 
also have the power of levying taxes. 

Superintendent of Schools. — Education is another func¬ 
tion of government which is not managed solely by the 
local units. There is a county officer, called the superin¬ 
tendent of schools , who has supervisory powers, and he 
usually examines teachers and certifies to their qualifica¬ 
tions. 

Register of Deeds. — The register of deeds , or recorder , 
is a county officer who keeps records of certain kinds. 
Among other things, copies of deeds are registered or kept 
in his office. A person wishing to buy real estate ( i.e . 
houses or lands) may, by consulting the records in this 
office, learn whether the owner has a clear title to the 
property. 

Coroner. — The coroner has the duty of holding inquests 
when persons meet death by violence or in some unex¬ 
plained way. He may also perform the duties of the 
sheriff when the latter is incapacitated. 

Surveyor. — The county surveyor makes surveys at the 
request of public authorities, as well as for individuals. 
He keeps the official records of the boundaries of farms 
and lots. 


10 


LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


Clerk and Treasurer. — Of course the county must have 
its clerk and treasurer , the customary officers whose duties 
are, respectively, to keep the records and to handle county 
moneys. 

We may now pass in review the principal features of 
county government: — 

I. Legislative. 

1. County Boards: — 

Commissioner type 
Supervisor type 

2 . Functions : — 

County buildings Roads and bridges 

Poor — Education Taxation 


II. Executive and Administrative Officers. 
Sheriff and Deputies Attorney 


Clerk 
Treasurer 
Register of Deeds, 
or Recorder 


Superintendent of 
Schools 
Coroner 
Surveyor 


(In some States, Assessors and Collectors of Taxes, 
and Auditors.) 

III. Judiciary. 

County Court District Court 


Relations of Local Officers to State Law.— There are 
other reasons than those already given why States are 
divided into counties. One is because, in the performance 


COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 


II 


of their duties, the county officers act as agents for the 
State ; that is, they carry out the requirements of State 
law in their own localities. For example, criminals are 
brought to trial and punished under State law, but it is 
administered by local or county officials. So the surveyor, 
superintendent of schools, register of deeds, and other 
officers act under State laws. While it seems best to 
have one general law for the State upon important sub¬ 
jects, it is also the policy of our government to intrust the 
execution of the law, in most cases, to local rather than to 
State officials. These officers, being elected by the people 
of the various localities, feel their responsibility more 
keenly than if they obtained office by appointment from 
State authorities. The counties, then, are administrative 
districts of the State, made for convenience in the manage¬ 
ment of those governmental matters which are uniform 
throughout the State. In the control of those matters 
which affect but one locality, the county authorities are 
free to follow their own policy, within the limits of State 
law. 

What has been said concerning the relation of the county 
to the State government is true to a considerable extent 
concerning the town, village, and city governments. Here, 
too, elections are held, taxes are collected, and trials are 
conducted by local officers in accordance with State law. 
Indeed, it is true that these local divisions owe their ex¬ 
istence to State law. Towns are laid out, villages and 
cities are incorporated, in accordance with the provisions 
of laws enacted by State legislatures. The State is the 
source of all the authority exercised by the officers and 
governing bodies of these local governments. 


12 


LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS. 

Make a study of your county government. 

1. Outline the officers in groups, as on p. 6. 

2. Learn the important duties of each officer. 

3. Are officers paid by fees or by salaries ? Which is the better 

method ? 

4. What is the length of the term for which each county officer holds 

his position ? 

5. How many members constitute the county board ? Are they 

commissioners or supervisors ? When do the meetings of the 
board occur ? 

6. Obtain a copy of the county board’s report and ascertain what im¬ 

portant business has been transacted. 

7. What buildings has the county at the county seat ? Does it own 

property elsewhere ? 

8. What process is followed in laying out a new town ? in the incor¬ 

poration of a village ? 

REFERENCES. 

1. An account of local government in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and 

Pennsylvania is found in Bryce, The American Commonwealth, 
Vol. I, 572-581 (601-610). 1 

2. The functions of local government are discussed in Holt, Talks 

on Civics, Chapter I; Ashley, The American Federal State, 397- 
400; Bryce, The American Commonwealth, Vol. I, 586-589 (616- 
619). 

1 References to Bryce are given in duplicate; pages enclosed in parentheses 
refer to the third edition, 1896. 


CHAPTER III. 


THE ORIGIN OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 

The Source of our Local Governments. —The systems of 
local government which have been described did not spring 
up spontaneously, nor were they established arbitrarily. 
There are reasons to be found in the history of their 
origins which explain many of their details. We shall 
now see how local government grew in the colonies, for 
here we have the beginnings of the systems that are in 
operation to-day. 

Everywhere in the colonies the English settlers adapted 
to their new environment the ancient customs of the 
mother-country. Differences in physical geography, and 
in the character and motives of the colonists, caused differ¬ 
ences in the resulting local governments. This fact is best 
illustrated by an account of what took place in New Eng¬ 
land and in Virginia. 

The Method of Settlement in New England. — These col¬ 
onies were settled by emigrants who came, in the main, 
from the same classes of Englishmen. The New Englanders, 
however, were Puritans. The church and its services were 
a very important part of their daily lives. The require¬ 
ment of church attendance was one reason for grouping 
their homes near the meeting-house. Moreover, the region 

13 


14 


LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


in which they settled had a stony soil, difficult to cultivate. 
Their farms required careful cultivation, and therefore 
could not be very large. The New Englander was content 
to live near the coast. Access to the interior was not 
easy, for the rivers, with few exceptions, were short and 
rapid. The sea fisheries tempted the settlers to remain 
near the coast, and fishing, with ship-building and com¬ 
merce, became their important industries. 

Town Meeting and Officers. — For these reasons New 
England was a region of small farms and towns, and the 
local government which grew up was adapted to these 
conditions. The voters of each town (or township) met 
annually, or oftener, in “ town meeting.” Here their com¬ 
mon local affairs were discussed and regulated. The 
church, the schools, roads, the poor, and many other 
matters were under the complete control of this meeting, 
and of the officers elected by the assembled voters. These 
officers were the selectmen, — a board having general super¬ 
vision of the town affairs, — the clerk, treasurer, assessors, 
fence viewers, constables, and numerous others. 

The County in New England. — Because the people lived 
in towns and could most easily regulate their affairs through 
the machinery of town government, they had no counties 
whatever at first; but these were soon established, though 
merely for judicial purposes. The governor appointed 
justices who held court in each county. 

The distinctive features of New England local govern¬ 
ment, then, were (i) its democratic character, seen par¬ 
ticularly in the town meeting ; and (2) the fact that nearly 


THE ORIGIN OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


15 


all local affairs were managed by the town government, 
leaving but one important function, and that judicial in 
its nature, for the county. 

The Settlement of Virginia. — In the colony of Virginia 
we find conditions that bring about entirely different results 
in the organization and workings of local government. 
Here the settlers were not bound by religious or other 
ties into compact social bodies as the Puritans were. Na¬ 
ture in Virginia held forth many inducements for the set¬ 
tlers to live apart, so that nearly all their attempts to form 
cities and towns failed. The cultivation of tobacco, of 
course, explains this to a large extent. The fertile soil 
and the ease of raising this product led to the formation 
of large plantations. The broad rivers made progress into 
the interior remarkably easy, while the necessity for towns 
as shipping ports was almost completely obviated by the 
use of private wharves at the various plantations. The 
rich planters dominated the social and political life of the 
colony, and local government fell under their control. 

The Importance of the County. —Now, of the various 
local organizations to which the Virginians had been accus¬ 
tomed in England, the one best adapted to their condition 
in the colony was the county. So they copied the English 
county and made it their chief organ of local government. 
The principal governing body was the county court , com¬ 
posed of justices appointed at first by the governor of the 
colony. The court had both legislative and judicial func¬ 
tions. It managed such matters as roads, licenses, and taxa¬ 
tion ; it also tried civil and criminal cases. Other county 


16 


LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


officers were the sheriff and the lieutenant, the latter being 
commander of the militia. 

The Parish and the Vestry. — That part of the Virginia 
local government which corresponded to the New England 
town was th z parish; but it is apparent that few functions 
remained to be exercised in this, their smallest political 
organization. The counties were generally composed of 
several parishes. The governing body of each was the 
vestry; it had charge of church affairs and of poor relief. 
The members of the vestry and also the justices of the 
county court were not elected periodically by the people, 
as the town officers were in New England. On the con¬ 
trary, both the vestry and the county court filled vacancies 
in their own number, without popular election. 

This fact serves to illustrate the general truth that local 
government was democratic in New England and aristo¬ 
cratic in Virginia; in the former colony the mass of voters 
participated most actively in local government, while in the 
latter a few men constituted the ruling class. This does 
not mean that local affairs in Virginia were badly managed, 
for the leading men were on the whole intelligent and pub¬ 
lic spirited; and in the years of the Revolution they were 
among the foremost in the defence of American liberties. 
In New England, however, it was noticeable that the mass 
of voters were intelligent and understood the practical 
management of political affairs — a result which doubtless 
came largely from their training in the town meeting. 

The Three Types of Local Organization. —We have now 
seen that in New England the town had the most impor- 


THE ORIGIN OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


17 

tant functions of local government, and this is called, 
therefore, the town type; while in Virginia the county 
absorbed the greater share of governing powers, and there 
we find the county type . Virginia influenced the colonies 
that lay south of her, so that the county type prevailed 
also in the Carolinas and Georgia. In the middle colo¬ 
nies there existed both counties and towns, and here there 
was a much more equal division of powers between these 
organizations. Hence we call theirs the mixed or town - 
ship-county type of local government. 

Local Government in the West. — The people who mi¬ 
grated to the new States west of the Alleghanies carried 
with them the forms of local government which have just 
been described as growing up in the colonies. This state¬ 
ment needs some modification, for nowhere in the West 
was the pure town type adopted. Everywhere in the 
North we find the mixed type, while the Southern States 
have, in general, the county type. In the latter the 
county commissioners, elected at large or from precincts, 
together with other county officers, exercise most of the 
local powers of government. 

Two Forms in the North. — In the greater number of 
the States that have the mixed type, the county is gov¬ 
erned by a board of commissioners elected by either of 
the methods just mentioned as prevailing in the South. 
In a few States (such as Michigan, Illinois, and Wiscon¬ 
sin), the county board is composed of supervisors , who 
represent the towns, villages, and wards of the county. 
Here we find the town meeting, copied after that of New 


c 


i8 


LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


England or New York, and the town government has 
more functions than in those States where commissioners 
compose the town board. 

Local Self-government. — Such is the way in which local 
government has come about in the various States of the 
Union. Rooted in the systems that Englishmen have 
developed through the centuries, adapted to the new life 
and the peculiar conditions of the colonial period, it has 
spread with the population throughout the land. The 
different practices of the States testify to the way in which 
habits persist in government, as in other phases of life. 
The management of local affairs by the people and their 
chosen representatives is a sound principle of government 
which holds a firm place in every part of our country. 

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES. 

1. Which type of local government exists in your State ? Can you 

account for its origin ? 

2. Is the system of local government uniform throughout your State ? 

If so, why is this true ? If not, can you account for the lack 
of uniformity? 

3. The following references are useful in studying the history of local 

government: Thwaites, The Colonies, 55-58; Fisher, The Colo¬ 
nial Era, 60, 99, 167; Channing, The United States of America, 
37-38; Hart, Formation of the Union, n-13; Bryce, The 
American Commonwealth, Vol. I, 561-565 (589-593); Bancroft, 
History of the United States, Vol. I, 285-286, 449; Ashley, The 
American Federal State, 390-396. 

4. Which is the best type of local government ? Is it becoming more 

common? Bryce, Vol. I, 591-592 (621). 


CHAPTER IV. 


THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES. 

The General Plan of City Government. — The general 
framework of city government is not very different from 
that of the other governmental divisions. There are the 
legislative, executive, and judicial departments, whose 
organization and functions are stated in the charter , or 
fundamental law of the city. The city legislature is the 
council or board of aldermen. In most cases this body is a 
single house, though in some cities there are two houses. 
The members are elected from the wards into which the 
city is divided. The council may pass ordinances for the 
government of the city, but it is limited in the extent of its 
powers by the terms of the city charter. 

City Charters granted by Legislatures. — The source of 
the charter is the State legislature. In most States the 
constitution provides that the legislature shall pass general 
laws prescribing the framework of all cities, or of the 
classes into which the cities of a State may be divided, 
according to their population. These laws also contain 
regulations that are safeguards against the abuses of 
municipal government, such as excessive taxation and 
the accumulation of debts. The requirement of general 
laws secures uniformity in the essential features of city 

19 


20 


LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


government, and it prevents the practice, which is other¬ 
wise liable to prevail, of constant interference by State 
legislatures, in the affairs of certain cities. Such special 
laws should be enacted with great caution, if at all, for 
when a legislature regulates the affairs of a particular city, 
it too often does so at the request of persons or corpora¬ 
tions having advantages to gain at the expense of the 
public . 1 

The Mayor. — The chief executive of the city is the 
mayor. He is the head of the police department and has 
more or less authority over the other administrative depart¬ 
ments to be discussed later in this chapter. In the cases 
of both mayor and aldermen, the facts concerning their 
terms, salaries, and other details vary so greatly in differ¬ 
ent cities that no general description is possible. 

The city judiciary includes the ordinary State courts and 
also special or municipal courts of various degrees. 

Other City Officials. — Besides the officers enumerated, 
every city has its clerk, treasurer, attorney, and assessors. 
The auditor, or comptroller, is an important official who 
controls city finances. 

Administrative Departments. — The greatest difficulties 
of city government arise in connection with the numerous 
administrative departments; these are quite complex in 
their operation. In large cities the number of officials 
and the variety of their duties render it almost impossible 

1 In some States where the constitutions require general laws applying to 
classes of cities, single cities have been put in classes by themselves ; so the 
legislature has virtually governed them by special laws. This practice has 
been declared illegal in Ohio. 


THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES. 


21 


for the average citizen to inform himself concerning these 
affairs; consequently, opportunities for fraud and misman¬ 
agement occur frequently. 

Why, it may be asked, is such complex machinery neces¬ 
sary in municipal government ? It is because social and 
industrial conditions (that is, the circumstances under which 
men live and work) are quite different from those that pre¬ 
vail in towns and villages; and city government must be 
adapted to these conditions. 

Conditions peculiar to City Life. — Let us notice some of 
the ways in which this is true, (i) The mere fact that 
population is dense increases the possibility that a citizen 
may interfere with the rights of his neighbors, even in the 
conduct of legitimate business. (2) There is greater lia¬ 
bility that public health and safety may be endangered, 
both in the homes and in the industrial establishments of 
cities, than in less densely settled communities. (3) The 
opportunities for evil-doing and for concealment that exist 
in cities draw to them a larger proportion of the vicious 
classes who need control and suppression. (4) Finally, in 
cities it is less easy than in the country for each family to 
supply itself with certain conveniences, such as water, 
light, and transportation; consequently, the government 
must regulate to some extent the supply of these neces¬ 
sities. 

These are some of the conditions that are peculiar to 
city life; and we find here the reasons why the govern¬ 
ment in a city must undertake a large number of functions. 
At every point the safety of the citizen and his property 
must be guarded; and in a great many ways the conven- 


22 


LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


iences of life must be supplied by the city or under the 
control of city officials. Thus we account for the fact that 
city government is complex — the principal source of the 
difficulties and the evils that we find in connection with 
administrative departments. 

Fire and Police Departments. — The number and the 
organization of administrative departments vary consider¬ 
ably in different cities. Everywhere we find the police, 
fire, and health departments. Of these, the fire depart¬ 
ment is generally the most efficient, for the citizens will 
not tolerate laxness in the protection of their property. 
Not so much can be said of the administration of the police 
and the health departments in most cities. When the se¬ 
lection of police officers is on a purely political basis, the 
standards are low and the way is opened for police con¬ 
nivance with the violators of the law. Instances are not 
uncommon where policemen receive, regularly, money pay¬ 
ments from law-breakers for protection. Here public in¬ 
terests are betrayed by officers who are sworn to defend 
them. The detection of this form of corruption is diffi¬ 
cult; nevertheless, its continuance in a flagrant form is 
evidence of public apathy. In a few cities, civil service 
reform methods are used in the selection of policemen; 
the passing of an examination and of a physical test is 
necessary for appointment. This, with a fair system of 
promotions, should render a police force more like a mili¬ 
tary organization in its relation to the enforcement of law. 

The Health Department. — The department of public 
health has duties that are of vital importance. Sewerage 
systems, sanitation, and the water-supply are the chief 


THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES. 


23 


objects of its inspection. Health officers also have powers 
which enable them to detect and prohibit the sale of im¬ 
pure foods. The milk-supply should receive its particular 
attention, for the purity of this product is an important 
matter. The enforcement of strict health regulations in 
the crowded tenement districts of large cities is very 
difficult; but the neglect of these matters by city officials 
is nothing less than criminal. 

The Department of Streets. — This department, which has 
in charge the construction of streets and pavements, affects 
the convenience of every citizen. Here vast sums of 
money are expended, sometimes wisely, and sometimes 
under the supervision of officials who are deficient in 
the technical knowledge required by this kind of work. 
Opportunity for dishonest handling of public money may 
be found in the letting of contracts and in the purchase 
of supplies. Street cleaning has received comparatively 
little attention in American cities. In this respect we 
are far behind many European cities. This is because 
the relation of clean streets to public health, and to civic 
beauty, is not fully appreciated by the average citizen of 
our country. 

Public Charities. — The administration of public chari¬ 
ties is everywhere a difficult matter, and, naturally, its 
difficulty is greatest in large cities, where we find the 
greatest number of those who seek relief. Two problems 
confront the department of public charities: (1) How can 
it distinguish between those who actually need assistance 
and those who do not ? (2) How can it help those who 

need assistance temporarily, without weakening their de- 


24 


LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


sire to become self-supporting ? The same problems must 
be solved by the citizen in connection with his private 
charities. In general, it may be said that charity is most 
judiciously dispensed by private organizations, in charge 
of trained workers, who can investigate all cases of appli¬ 
cation for aid. 

The Public Schools. — Public education is another de¬ 
partment of municipal activity. 1 The expenditure of public 
money for this purpose is not stinted. The scope of 
our educational institutions is constantly being enlarged; 
courses in commerce, manual training, and domestic 
science are intended to strengthen the practical side of 
the curriculum. In some cities special schools are main¬ 
tained for the defective classes and for truants. 

Libraries, Parks, and Playgrounds. —The educational 
advantages furnished by the city are not for the children 
alone. Public libraries and museums serve adults as well. 
Recreation is provided by means of parks, public play¬ 
grounds, and open-air gymnasiums. These will become 
more common when their educational influence is more 
fully appreciated. 

Committees or Boards. — The important questions that 
arise in connection with administrative departments are, 
how shall they be organized ? and how shall the officers who 
control them be appointed ? Two general methods prevail: 
(i) In the smaller cities the members of the council are 
grouped into committees , which have charge of the various 
administrative departments. In large cities there are boards 


1 This subject is also treated in the chapter on Public School Systems. 


THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES. 


25 


or commissioners , distinct from the council, and these may 
be composed of salaried officers. In either case the board 
may employ a superintendent to take charge of the work 
under its jurisdiction. The principal criticism which can 
be offered against this method of managing administrative 
departments is that responsibility cannot be definitely lo¬ 
cated. No single member of a board or commission will 
assume responsibility for mismanagement; and when re¬ 
sponsibility is divided among several persons, none of them 
feels it very strongly. 

(2) Single Heads of Departments. —As a remedy for this 
defect, administrative departments in some cities are placed 
under the control of single officers. These are given au¬ 
thority to appoint their subordinates, and they are held 
strictly accountable for the management of the depart¬ 
ment. Responsibility is further concentrated in some cities 
by giving the mayor power to appoint these heads of 
departments. 

Qualifications of City Officers. — Grave questions are in¬ 
volved in these matters of organization, but the efficiency 
of city government depends in the greatest measure upon 
the character of the officers who are placed in power. We 
need to recognize the importance, in city affairs as in pri¬ 
vate business, of securing officials who are qualified by 
training and by successful experience to serve the public. 
Economy and honesty in municipal government cannot be 
expected when politics alone determines appointments to 
office. The establishment of civil service examination sys¬ 
tems in certain cities 1 is a step in the right direction. 

1 Some of these are New York, Chicago, and Milwaukee. 


2 6 


LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


Public Utilities. — Besides the administrative depart¬ 
ments already enumerated, we have in large cities those 
which control the supply of water, light, and transportation 
facilities. The industries furnishing these necessities may 
belong to the city, but in most cases they are owned by 
individuals and corporations. 1 Even then they should be 
subject to strict regulation by the city, for several reasons: 
(i) These industries make use of public streets. The right 
to do this is granted by the council in a franchise. (2) The 
product that is supplied being in each case a necessity, it 
is the duty of the city government to protect the citizens 
from any abuse or inconvenience that may arise in con¬ 
nection with it. (3) In nearly every case the industries 
in question are monopolies; i.e. competition between rival 
plants is not possible. For this reason the public may 
suffer either from high rates or from imperfect service. 


The Granting of Franchises. — The control of public ser¬ 
vice corporations, as those are called which supply water, 
light, and transportation, may be secured in several ways: 
(1) Franchises should be granted for terms not longer than 
twenty years. The profits of these industries increase very 
rapidly with the growth of population ; consequently, it 
should be possible to compel the reduction of rates and 
the enforcement of other conditions favorable to the pub¬ 
lic, at the end of a short term of years. (2) Adequate 
means should be provided for enforcing the terms of 
franchises. Neglect of this makes possible serious abuses. 
(3) The accounts of the corporations that have franchises 


1 On this topic, see “ Government in State and Nation,” pp. 36-39. 


THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES. 


27 


should be made public, so that the people may know 
whether the profits are excessive. 

The Question of Municipal Ownership. — The opinion is 
gaining ground that no amount of municipal control will 
eliminate the evils of private ownership in these industries. 
Since they are “ natural monopolies,” it is argued they 
should be operated by the city government. This opinion 
is seen to have great weight when we consider the cor¬ 
ruption and the lack of attention to the public welfare that 
accompany the granting of franchises to corporations. The 
bribery of aldermen and the granting of valuable privileges 
without compensation are frequent occurrences. On the 
other hand, the facts that venal officers are elected in our 
cities, and that they ignore public interests with impunity, 
raise a very serious question whether they should be in¬ 
trusted with the management of great industries, such as 
water and lighting plants and street-car systems. 

Reasons for Poor City Government. — Other arguments 
may be made on both sides of this question of municipal 
ownership; but there are fundamental reasons why the cities 
of the United States are, on the whole, poorly governed, 
which must receive consideration before this question can 
be settled. The conditions accounting for the evils of 
municipal government may be briefly stated as follows : 
(1) City governments are necessarily complex, and, in their 
administrative departments especially, a multitude of de¬ 
tails must receive attention. Citizens find it difficult to 
understand these transactions and even more difficult to 
follow them closely. (2) City governments must spend 


28 


LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


vast sums of money, 1 and this fact constitutes a standing 
temptation to dishonest men, both in and out of office. 
(3) The rapidity with which cities have grown has in¬ 
creased the difficulty of their problems. 2 (4) Individuals 
and corporations have found it necessary to secure fran¬ 
chises from cities for the operation of important industries; 
this has opened many opportunities for corruption in city 
affairs. (5) The presence of large numbers of foreigners 3 
who are ignorant of governmental affairs has enabled cor¬ 
rupt politicians to exert undue influence upon the voters in 
city elections. 

The Reform of Municipal Governments. — Having re¬ 
viewed the principal causes for the evils of municipal gov¬ 
ernment, let us now consider some of the conditions that 
are necessary for bringing about reforms. 

(1) National politics should be entirely divorced from 
city affairs. It may be impossible to prevent the nomina¬ 
tion of candidates by the regular political parties; but 
within each party local issues, not national, should deter¬ 
mine the selection of candidates. At the polls, the voter 
should cast his ballot independent of party considerations. 

(2) Public interest in municipal affairs and the existence 
of a strong civic pride are conditions that are essential to 
the election of good officers and to the purity of city gov¬ 
ernment. 

(3) Fundamental to the establishment of better munici- 

1 Statistics of expenditures of New York, London, Paris, and Philadelphia 
are given in “ Government in State and Nation,” p. 33. 

2 Yet European cities have grown with almost equal rapidity and are, on 
the whole, well governed. See ibid., p. 43. 

3 See statistics of foreign population in American cities, ibid., p. 40. 


THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES. 


29 


pal governments is the recognition by every citizen of his 
responsibility , not only on election day, but on every occa¬ 
sion when his influence can be exerted for the detection 
of wrong, the punishment of corrupt officials, and the 
encouragement of better things in all departments of city 
life. This means unselfishness in one’s attitude toward 
the public welfare; it means willingness to sacrifice time 
and effort in the public service. The example set by many 
eminent persons who have devoted themselves unselfishly 
to the accomplishment of reforms in our great cities may 
well be imitated by every citizen in the smaller affairs 
of his city or his ward. And the younger generation of 
citizens, who are yet students in the public schools, may 
exert no little influence toward the betterment of the city; 
and they may aid in the formation of that better public 
sentiment without which no improvement in our standards 
of municipal government is possible. 

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS. 

Outline for the study of your city government. 

1. Was the city organized under a general law of the State, or was it 

granted a special charter? Does the legislature enact special 
laws for the city ? 

2. The mayor: term, salary. What are his principal powers? Should 

his responsibility be increased ? 

3. The council or board of aldermen: number of members, term of 

office, manner of election, compensation ? 

4. The municipal courts and judges. 

5. Administrative departments: make a complete list of these. Are 

they controlled by boards or by single officers ? How do the 
officers obtain their positions ? Are they paid salaries ? Of what 
business does each have charge? 

6. How are the water, lighting, and street-car plants managed ? Do 


30 


LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 


you believe in the municipal ownership of any of them? Give 
reasons for your opinion. 

7. How do police officers receive appointment ? If an officer fails to 

enforce an ordinance, what course would you take to secure its 
enforcement ? 

8. Are party lines closely adhered to by voters in city elections ? Are 

independent party organizations formed ? Are they successful ? 

9. What can you learn of reform movements that have taken place in 

your city’s history ? Give the causes for the success or failure 
of these. 

10. What is the cost of your city government per annum ? Is it 

economically administered ? What are the principal items 
of expense ? Has the city other sources of revenue besides 
taxation ? 

11. What are the excellent features of your city’s government ? What 

are its faults ? How may the latter be corrected ? 

12. Mention some ways in which students can assist in bringing 

about better conditions in your city. 

REFERENCES. 

1. What are the general causes of bad city government in the United 

States? Bryce, Vol. I, 608-614 (637-644). 

2. What reform measures have been suggested? Bryce, Vol. I, 614- 

619 (644-649). 

3. National politics in local affairs, Holt, Talks on Civics, 360-366. 

4. General accounts of city government, Bryce, Vol. I, Chapters 50 

and 52; Ashley, The American Federal State, Chapter 21. 

5. Among the most useful books on municipal government are Conk- 

ling, City Government in the United States ; Wilcox, The Study 
of City Government; and Devlin, Municipal Reform in the 
United States. 

6. Problems of Municipal Government, N. Am. Rev., 172:751-763; 

Arena, 24: 589-593. Responsibility in City Government, Forum, 
28:469-481; Arena, 27: 39-46. Council and Mayor, Atl. Mo., 
88 : 391-397. Municipal Situation in Ohio, Forum, 33 : 430-437. 
Charter Needs of Great Cities, N. Am. Rev., 170:850-856. The 
Poor in Cities, N. Eng. Mag., 25 : 63-73. Municipal Art, Harper's 
Mag., 100: 655-666. Public Untidiness, Forum, 33 : 322-332. 


THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES. 


31 


7. Municipal Ownership, N. Am. Rev., 172:445-455 ; Arena, 25: 198- 

209; Forum, 32:201-216; Atl. Mo., 88:463-482; Cen. Mag., 
60:311-312; Outlook, 66:502-508; 70:726-727; Rev. of R’s, 
23 : 468-470. 

8. Reform of City Governments, Atl. Mo., 87: 583-587; Arena, 27: 

174-178. Chicago, Nation, 70 : 411-412 ; Rev. of R’s, 21: 736-737. 
The Chicago Voters’ League, Outlook, 71: 495-498. 


PART II. 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 

CHAPTER V. 

EVENTS LEADING TO THE FORMATION OF THE UNION. 

Colonial Relations.—Why was union so long delayed? 
How was it finally accomplished ? These are always ques¬ 
tions of great interest to the student of American govern¬ 
ment. We note the general indifference toward union 
among the colonies before the Revolutionary War. This 
may be partially accounted for by the fact that each 
colony had its own separate government, and was jealous 
of all outside interference. Lack of good roads and 
methods of travel made extensive communication be¬ 
tween the scattered settlements difficult. Prejudice against 
strangers, and especially those of a different religious 
belief, was common. Bonds of sympathy, however, be¬ 
tween the citizens of different colonies were not wholly 
lacking. Their language and customs were mainly Eng¬ 
lish. Their chief desire was to develop a government 
according to their own plans. Common interests were at 
times created because of the necessity for providing pro¬ 
tection against their Indian, French, and Dutch foes. In 


32 


EVENTS LEADING TO FORMATION OF UNION. 33 

general, we may say, Confederation was early brought 
about through need for defense, but union has been the 
result of two centuries and a half of growth. 

Union of the New England Colonies, 1643. — A notable 
attempt was made to form a confederation among the 
colonies in 1643. It is known as the New England 
Confederation, and included Massachusetts Bay, New 
Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven colonies. Their 
united energies were necessary to furnish protection against 
dangers from the Indians. The Dutch and French also 
tended constantly to encroach upon their rights. The 
governing body of this confederation was a board of 
commissioners. In the annual meetings of the commis¬ 
sioners, two being sent from each colony, questions of 
war, relations with the Indians, and other matters of 
mutual interest were discussed. But this central govern¬ 
ment possessed advisory powers only. The colonies were 
to provide for their own local government. The confed¬ 
eration became constantly weaker, and was finally dis¬ 
solved in 1684. Seventy years were to elapse before the 
call was sent out for a meeting of delegates from all the 
colonies at Albany, but the influence of the New England 
Confederacy was felt, no doubt, during that period. 

The Albany Congress, 1754. — Open hostilities with their 
enemies became more and more frequent. From the out¬ 
break of King William’s War, in 1689, to i/ 54 > the date 
of the Albany Congress, there were at least a dozen inter¬ 
colonial conferences called to consider means for the 
common defense. Plans for union were also prepared. 
The most interesting is that of William Penn. In it, the 


34 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


word “ Congress ” is used for the first time in connection 
with American affairs. As the final struggle with France 
for the possession of America was about to begin, a “ Con¬ 
gress ” of twenty-five of the leading men from seven differ¬ 
ent colonies met at Albany. They were called, primarily, 
for the purpose of making a treaty with the Iroquois 
Indians. This object secured, the resolution was then 
unanimously adopted that, “ A union of all the colonies is 
at present absolutely necessary for security and defense.” 
Franklin’s famous plan providing for a permanent federa¬ 
tion of all the colonies was also adopted. When submitted 
to the colonies, it failed to receive the ratification of a 
single one. Nor was it acceptable to the English govern¬ 
ment. Said Franklin, “The assemblies all thought there 
was too much prerogative, and in England it was thought 
to have too much of the democratic.” 

The Stamp Act Congress, 1765. — After the passing of 
the stamp act by the English government, the Massachu¬ 
setts house of representatives invited the other colonial 
assemblies to send delegations to a general congress. Nine 
colonies responded by sending twenty-eight men to the 
congress in New York City, October 7, 1765. 1 During the 
session of two weeks, these delegates drafted petitions to 
the English government and declared that the rights of the 
colonists were the same as those of the natural-born sub¬ 
jects of England. It is noteworthy that representatives 
had again assembled on the motion of the colonists them¬ 
selves. The growth of common interests was well ex- 

1 Virginia, New Hampshire, Georgia, and North Carolina sympathized with 
the movement, but did not send delegates. 


EVENTS LEADING TO FORMATION OF UNION. 35 

pressed by Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina, when 
he said: “ There ought to be no New England man, no 
New Yorker, known on the continent; but all of us Amer¬ 
icans.” 

Committees of Correspondence. — Nine years were to go 
by before the meeting of another congress, but the colo¬ 
nists were prepared for a united effort at the end of this 
period. No sooner were the contents of the Townshend 
acts of 1767 known, than Massachusetts issued a circular 
letter to the other colonies, asking for combined action 
against all such unconstitutional measures. The other 
colonial assemblies agreed with Massachusetts. Another 
movement which made the Revolution possible was begun 
by Samuel Adams. In November, 1772, he prevailed 
upon the Boston town meeting to appoint a committee 
which should carry on a correspondence with committees 
organized in other towns of that colony. Rights and 
grievances were the chief subjects for consideration. Other 
colonies adopted this plan. Led by Virginia, the idea was 
carried one step farther, and in 1773 were formed com¬ 
mittees of correspondence between the different colonies. 
Thus, they were prepared for united action in the First and 
Second Continental Congresses. 

The First Continental Congress, 1774.—When the coercive 
acts of 1774 had been passed, Massachusetts, now in great¬ 
est need, called for a congress of all the colonies. Delegates 
from all, Georgia 1 excepted, assembled at Philadelphia, Sep¬ 
tember 5, 1774. In the Declaration of Rights, and in the 


1 Georgia was in sympathy with this movement. 


36 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


adoption of the Articles of Association, they gave full ex¬ 
pression to colonial sentiment. They commended the 
resistance of the people of Massachusetts. They de¬ 
clared that all “America ought to support them in their 
opposition,” if force should be used in carrying out the 
measures of Parliament. 

The Second Continental Congress, 1775.—Before adjourn¬ 
ing, the First Continental Congress provided for the meet¬ 
ing of another Congress, in May, 1775, unless the causes 
for colonial grievances should be earlier removed by the 
English government. But other measures of repression 
were quickly passed, and before the Second Continental 
Congress met,, the Battle of Lexington had been fought 
and the American forces were blockading Boston. This 
congress convened in Philadelphia May 10, 1775, and con¬ 
tinued in session, with adjournments from time to time, 
until May 1, 1781. All of the colonies were represented. 
Like previous congresses, this was, at first, merely an ad¬ 
visory body, but necessity compelled it to act as a real 
government. It took control of military affairs, provided 
for a currency, threw open American ports to the ships of 
all nations, and did whatever else the necessities of the 
time seemed to demand. Having been appealed to for 
advice, this congress took a most notable position in recom¬ 
mending that new forms of government should be estab¬ 
lished in the several States. By the year 1777, ten States 
had framed new constitutions. It furthered independence 
by appointing a committee to draft resolutions based on 
the ideas of independence then everywhere present. The 
Declaration of Independence was the result. 


EVENTS LEADING TO FORMATION OF UNION. 3 7 

The Articles of Confederation. — Franklin early saw the 
need for a more effective government than that of a revo¬ 
lutionary assembly. On July 21, 1775, he presented to 
congress a plan for “perpetual union.” Nearly a year 
elapsed before a committee was appointed to prepare 
some form for confederation to be entered into between 
the colonies. Another period of a year and five months 
was to go by before the report of this committee was 
adopted by the Continental Congress. It was then 
submitted to the State Legislatures for approval. After 
three years and a half, on March 1, 1781, Maryland, the 
last State, was induced to ratify the Articles of Confedera¬ 
tion. The adoption of these Articles is one of the most 
important events in the history of our Nation. While the 
Articles of Confederation must always be regarded as a 
weak instrument of government, we must not forget that 
the Continental Congress was then working out problems 
in the province of government that were almost wholly 
new. The solution, faulty as it was, went far to establish 
the place of the written Constitution as a basis for govern¬ 
ment. 

Said John Fiske: “ Almost everything else in our fundamental in¬ 
stitutions was brought by our forefathers in a more or less highly 
developed condition from England; but the development of the written 
Constitution, with the consequent relation of the courts to the law¬ 
making power, has gone on entirely upon American soil.” 

Practical Working of the Government. — Conditions soon 
proved the Articles unsatisfactory. The States were almost 
independent of the central government. There was no 
separate executive power to enforce, and no judiciary to 
interpret the laws. The nation was deep in debt, and 


38 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


without means for payment. Paper money of the period 
was worthless, and debtors were rebellious. Disputes 
between the various States brought them to the verge of 
civil war. Each State had its own system of duties and 
imposts, which led to great confusion in commerce. No 
important resolution could be passed in Congress without 
the votes of nine States. No amendment was possible, 
except by the votes of all the States. Congress became 
constantly weaker as various members resigned to accept 
positions under State authority. In that most dangerous 
period of our history, extending from 1783 to 1788, aptly 
called the “ critical period,” it became constantly more 
apparent that government under the Articles of Confedera¬ 
tion was a failure. Fortunately, in this hour of gloom, 
there came forward Washington, Hamilton, Madison, and 
other leaders, who were prepared, if need be, to make 
compromises, but who were determined to preserve the 
elements of the union already secured. 

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES. 

1. How was the Stamp Act regarded in the different colonies as 

shown by the addresses made and resolutions offered? Hart, 
Contemporaries, II, 395-411 ; Tyler, Patrick Henry (American 
Statesmen), Chapters 5 and 6. 

2. Do you know of other instances in our history where a stamp act 

has been passed ? How was it regarded ? In what ways was it 
different from that of 1765 ? 

3. What was the origin of the Committees of Correspondence and 

how did they aid in unification ? Sloane, The French War and 
the Revolution, 161, 162; Hart, Formation of the Union, 57. 

4. Analyze the Declaration of Independence, and select from it the 

causes for the Revolution. 

5. Why was the adoption of the Articles of Confederation so long 


EVENTS LEADING TO FORMATION OF UNION. 39 

delayed? Hart, Contemporaries, II, 539-543; Fiske, The Criti¬ 
cal Period, 93, 95; Walker, The Making of the Nation, 6; Hart, 
Formation of the Union, 93-95. 

6. Read the Articles of Confederation (Appendix jB). 

(a) How was the Congress composed? 

( b ) The number necessary for a quorum ? 

(c) The powers of Congress? 

(d) Powers of the separate States? 

7. Defects of the Confederation. Hart, Contemporaries, II, 591-603. 

8. What was the attitude toward union during the period 1783-1788 ? 

Were there notable bonds of union even at this time? What 
other influences have increased this sentiment ? Fiske, Critical 
Period, 55-63; Walker, The Making of the Nation, 7, 8. 

9. President Roosevelt said, in an address delivered April g, 1902, at 

Charleston, S.C., “When four years ago this nation was com¬ 
pelled to face a foreign foe, the completeness of the reunion be¬ 
came instantly and strikingly evident.” What is his meaning ? 
How does the statement illustrate the point emphasized in this 
chapter, that a common danger produces union ? 

10. Describe the character of the money used in 1783 and succeeding 
years. What was its influence ? Fiske, Critical Period, 162-186. 


CHAPTER VI. 


THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 

Events Leading to the Constitutional Convention. — 

Among the many difficulties that arose during the period 
of the Confederation, were constant disputes between Vir¬ 
ginia and Maryland over the navigation of the Potomac 
River and Chesapeake Bay. Finally, in March, 1785, 
commissioners from these States met at Alexandria to con¬ 
sider these difficulties. The outcome of the meeting was 
that Virginia called for delegates from all of the States to 
meet for the consideration of the commercial relations of 
the entire country. Delegates from five States only were 
present at Annapolis on the day appointed, September 11, 
1786. Nothing permanent could be accomplished with 
so few States represented. Before adjourning, however, 
they agreed to a resolution, framed by Alexander Hamil¬ 
ton, which proposed the calling of a convention at Phila¬ 
delphia to amend the Articles of Confederation. 

The Federal Convention, 1787; Delegates. — All of the 

States, Rhode Island excepted, were finally represented in 
this, one of the most notable conventions in the history of 
the world. Among the fifty-five delegates assembled were 
many who had already been conspicuous in public affairs. 
They were the choice men of the States from which they 

40 


THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 


41 


came. Twenty-nine of the number were university men. 
Washington and Franklin were present, and Washington 
was unanimously chosen president of the convention. 
Neither of these men took an active part in the debates; 
but their presence gave inspiration to the other members, 
and they had untold influence at critical times. Among 
the ablest members were Alexander Hamilton of New 
York; James Madison of Virginia; Oliver Ellsworth and 
William S. Johnson of Connecticut; James Wilson and 
Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania; Rufus King of Mas¬ 
sachusetts ; and Charles C. Pinckney of South Carolina. 

Our Knowledge of the Convention. — The Convention lasted from 
May 25 to September 17, 1787. The sessions were secret. Fortu¬ 
nately we are not dependent on the Secretary’s report alone for our 
knowledge of the meetings. 1 Mr. Madison seemed to understand the 
full meaning of the Convention from the first, and decided to give an 
accurate account of the proceedings. He wrote: “ Nor was I unaware 
of the value of such a contribution to the fund of materials for the his¬ 
tory of a Constitution on which should be staked the happiness of a 
people great even in its infancy, and possibly the cause of liberty 
throughout the world.” His notes were purchased by the government 
from Mrs. Madison in 1837, for the sum of thirty thousand dollars. 
They were published as “Madison’s Journal of the Constitutional 
Convention.” 

Plans for a Government; Virginia Plan. — The magnitude 
of the labors of this Convention can be understood only 
when we read the report of the discussions as given by 
Madison. It was at once determined that no time should 
be lost in patching up the Articles, but that a new Con¬ 
stitution should be formed. Two sets of resolutions were 
early submitted, each setting forth a plan of government. 

1 It was published in 1819 as a part of Volume I of “ Elliot’s Debates.” 


42 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


The Virginia plan was largely the work of Mr. Madison. 
It provided for the establishment of a national government 
with supreme legislative, executive, and judicial powers. 
The legislative power was to be vested in a Congress of 
two separate houses. The executive was to be chosen by 
both houses of Congress, and the judiciary by the Senate. 
Representation in both houses of Congress was to be based 
on population or the contributions to the support of the 
government. This scheme was fiercely attacked by the 
delegates from the small States, for it would clearly give 
control into the hands of the more powerful States. 

The New Jersey Plan. —The New Jersey plan, presented 
by Mr. Patterson of that State, was agreed upon by the 
members from Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Dela¬ 
ware, and Maryland. This Small State plan, so called, 
provided for a continuance of the government under the 
Articles of Confederation. They were to be revised in 
such a manner as to give Congress the power to regulate 
commerce, to raise revenue, and to coerce the States. The 
Small State party insisted that the Virginia plan, if adopted, 
would destroy the sovereignty of the States. They would 
rather, they said, submit to a foreign power than be de¬ 
prived of equality of suffrage in both branches of the 
Legislature. Madison, Wilson, King, and other leaders of 
the Large State party declared that the basis for the new 
government was to be the people and not the States; that 
it would be unfair to give Delaware as many representa¬ 
tives as Virginia or Pennsylvania. After many days of 
fruitless debate, a compromise, sometimes called the “ First 
Great Compromise,” was presented and finally adopted. 


THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 


43 


This provided that the House of Representatives should 
be composed of members elected on the basis of popula¬ 
tion. In the Senate, large and small States were to be 
equally represented. 

The Slavery Problem; Second Compromise. — How was 

the number of the representatives to be found? Were 
slaves to be counted as a part of the population ? A heated 
debate arose over these questions. The delegates from 
South Carolina maintained that slaves were a part of the 
population and as such should be counted. The answer 
was made that slaves were not represented in the Legisla¬ 
tures of that and other States; that slaves were regarded 
in those States merely as so much property, and as such 
ought never to be represented. Finally, when it seemed 
that the work of the Convention must fail, a compromise, 
known as “the three-fifths compromise,” was accepted. 
This provided that five slaves were to be counted as three 
free persons. 

The Third Compromise. — Slaves and commerce fur¬ 
nished the basis for a third compromise. South Carolina 
and Georgia desired to have the foreign slave-trade contin¬ 
ued. Some of the other Southern States and the Northern 
States generally were opposed. The New England mem¬ 
bers were anxious that the National government should 
have complete control of foreign commerce. This was re¬ 
sisted by some of the Southern delegates, who feared that 
the importation of slaves might thereby be prohibited. 
Finally, a compromise was agreed upon which gave Con¬ 
gress power over foreign and interstate commerce, but 
forbade any act which might prohibit the importation of 


44 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


slaves before 1808. It was also agreed that a tax of ten 
dollars each might be laid on all slaves imported. While 
the entire Constitution may be said to be made up of com¬ 
promises, the agreement upon these three rendered the 
further work of the Convention possible. 

Signing the Constitution. — Gouverneur Morris was se¬ 
lected to give the document its final form. The clear, sim¬ 
ple English used is due largely to him. After thirty-nine 
members, representing twelve different states, had signed 
the Constitution, the Convention adjourned. While the 
last signatures were being written, Franklin said to those 
standing near him, as he called attention to a sun blazoned 
on the back of the President’s chair: “ I have, often and 
often, in the course of the session, and the vicissitudes of 
my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that behind 
the President, without being able to tell whether it was 
rising or setting; but now, at length, I have the happiness 
to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun.” 

Difficulties of Ratification. — The Convention submitted 
the Constitution to Congress. Here, for eight days, it was 
attacked by its opponents. Finally, Congress passed it 
on to the State Legislatures, to be sent by them to State 
conventions. This process of ratification was provided 
for by Article VII of the Constitution, as follows: The 
ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient 
for the establishment of this Constitution between the States 
so ratifying the same.” 

The period included between September 28, 1787, when 
Congress transmitted the Constitution to the State Legis¬ 
latures, and June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire, the 


THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 


45 


last of the necessary nine States, ratified, was one of the 
most critical in our history. Political parties, in a truly 
National sense, were formed for the first time. Among 
the leaders who defended ably the views of those who 
opposed the ratification of the Constitution were Patrick 
Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Elbridge Gerry, and George 
Clinton. It was urged that there was no Bill of Rights , 1 
that the President would become a despot, and that 
equality of representation in the Senate was an injustice 
to the larger States. “Letters from the Federal Farmer,” 
prepared for the press of the country by Richard Henry 
Lee, set forth clearly the views of the Anti-Constitutional 
party. 

“ The Federalist.” — No influence was more noteworthy in bringing 
about ratification than a series of political essays afterward collected 
under the name of “The Federalist.” It is considered to-day the best 
commentary on the Constitution ever written. Alexander Hamilton 
originated the plan, and wrote 51 of the 85 numbers. James Madison 
wrote 29, and John Jay 5. 

The Influence of Washington.—Washington was again a giant in 
his support of the Constitution. In a letter to Patrick Henry he early 
sounded an effective note of warning against anarchy, expressing the 
very fear that finally led many in the conventions to vote for the Con¬ 
stitution. He wrote: “ I wish the Constitution which is offered had 

1 A Bill of Rights, in which the idea of the rights of man were set forth, 
was a significant part of nearly all the State constitutions. Englishmen, 
generally, had been familiar with the formal statement of these principles since 
1689, when William and Mary accepted the Declaration of Rights as a condi¬ 
tion of their receiving the crown of England. During the same year, Parlia¬ 
ment gave the Declaration of Rights the form of a statute, under the name of 
the Bill of Rights. Among other rights it demanded that the king, without the 
sanction of Parliament, should not raise an army, Secure money, or suspend 
the laws; also, that the right of petition, freedom in the exercise of religion, 
and equality under the laws were to be granted all subjects. 


46 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


been more perfect; but it is the best that could be obtained at this 
time, and a door is open for amendments hereafter. The political con¬ 
cerns of this country are suspended by a thread. The convention has 
been looked up to by the reflecting part of the community with a solici¬ 
tude which is hardly to be conceived, and if nothing had been agreed 
upon by that body, anarchy would soon have ensued, the seeds being 
deeply sown in every soil.” 

Ratification Secured. — Delaware, the first State, ratified 
December 6, 1787, without a dissenting vote. Pennsyl¬ 
vania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut followed 
quickly. Much depended on the action of the Massachu¬ 
setts convention. After prolonged debate, the delegates 
were finally influenced by the statement that amendments 
might be made, and they ratified the Constitution by a 
vote of 187 to 168. The ninth State was secured in the 
ratification by New Hampshire, June 21, 1788. It was 
not until November 21, 1789, however, that North Carolina 
voted to accept the Constitution. Rhode Island held out 
until May 29, 1790. 

The New Government put into Operation.—When the 
ratification of the ninth State had been secured, Congress 
appointed a special committee to frame an act for putting 
the Constitution into operation. It was enacted that the 
first Wednesday in January should be the day for appoint¬ 
ing electors; that the electors should cast their votes for 
President on the first Wednesday in P'ebruary, and that on 
the first Wednesday of March the new government should 
go into operation. It was not until April 1 that a 
quorum was secured in the House of Representatives, and 
in the Senate not until April 6. The electoral votes 
were counted in the presence of the two houses on 


THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 47 

April 6. 1 The inauguration of President Washington 
did not take place, however, until April 30. 

Origin of the Constitution. — Before making a study of 
this epoch-making document, let us inquire briefly as to its 
origin. An analysis of the Constitution shows that there 
are some provisions which are new, and that English 
precedent had an influence. The main features, however, 
were derived from the constitutions of the States with 
whose practical workings the delegates were familiar. 
The following well-known statement is an excellent sum¬ 
mary : “ Nearly every provision of the Federal Constitu¬ 
tion that has worked well is one borrowed from or 
suggested by some State constitution; nearly every pro¬ 
vision that has worked badly is one which the convention, 
for want of a precedent, was obliged to devise for itself.” 

Authority and Objects of the Constitution. — It was evi¬ 
dently the intention of the framers of the Constitution to 
found a government deriving its authority from the 
people rather than from the States. The purposes for 
which this was done are set forth in the following enacting 
clause, commonly called the Preamble : — 

“ We, the people of the United States, in order to form a 
more perfect union , establish justice, insure domestic tran¬ 
quillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general 
welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and 
our posterity, do ordain and establish this Coyistitution for 
the United States of America.” 

1 New York did not choose electors. North Carolina and Rhode Island, 
as we have seen, had not ratified the Constitution. 


48 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


This clause was attacked vigorously by the opponents of 
the Constitution, and especially in the Virginia and the 
North Carolina conventions. Said Patrick Henry : “And 
here I would make this inquiry of those worthy characters 
who composed a part of the late Federal Convention. . . . 
I have the highest veneration for those gentlemen; but, 
sir, give me leave to demand what right had they to say, 
‘ We, the people * ? . . . Who authorized them to speak 
the language of, We, the people, instead of, We, the States ? 
If the States be not the agents of this compact, it must be 
one great, consolidated, national government of the people 
of all the States.” It was argued, on the other hand, by 
Randolph, Madison, and others, that the government, 
under the Articles of Confederation, was a failure, and 
that the only safe course to pursue was to have a govern¬ 
ment emanating from the people instead of from the 
States, if the union of the States and the preservation of 
the liberties of the people were to be preserved. 

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND READINGS. 

1. For an account of the members of the Convention, see Hart, Con¬ 

temporaries, III, 205-211. 

2. For the contributions of the individuals and the classes of dele¬ 

gates, see Walker, The Making of the Nation, 23-27; Fiske, 

Critical Period, 224-229. 

3. Discuss the peculiar conditions in Massachusetts. Give the argu¬ 

ments presented. Walker, 56-57; Fiske, Critical Period, 316- 

33i- 

4. How was the Constitution regarded in Virginia? Walker, 58, 60; 

Fiske, Critical Period, 334-338. 

5. What was the attitude of the New York Convention toward the 

Constitution ? Fiske, Critical Period, 340-345. 

6. What objections were made against the Constitution in North 

Carolina? Hart, Contemporaries, III, 251-254. 


THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 


49 


7. What would have been the status of North Carolina and Rhode 

Island if they had not ratified? Walker, 73, 74; Hart, Forma¬ 
tion of the Union, 132, 133. 

8. Show the influence of the State constitutions on the Federal Con¬ 

stitution. James and Sanford, Government in State and Na¬ 
tion, 135. 

9. For other questions on the material in this chapter, see Fiske, 

Civil Government, 211, 212; James and Sanford, Government 
in State and Nation, 136, 1.37, 138. 


CHAPTER VII. 


ORGANIZATION OF THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Article I. 

A Congress of Two Houses. — Section i. All legislative 
powers , herein granted , shall be vested in a Congress of the 
United States , which shall consist of a Senate a?id House 
of Representatives . 

In the Constitutional Convention, the Pennsylvania dele¬ 
gates were the only ones who objected to the formation 
of a legislative body having two houses. It was believed 
that with two houses one would be a check upon the 
other, and that there would be less danger of hasty and 
oppressive legislation. Another reason for the formation 
of a Congress having two houses was that the colonists 
were familiar with this kind of Legislature. It existed in 
all of the States, Pennsylvania and Georgia excepted. 

Term of Members and Qualifications of Electors. — Sec¬ 
tion 2, Clause i. The House of Representatives shall be 
composed of members chosen every second year by the people 
of the several States , and the electors in each State shall 
have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most 
numerous branch of the State legislature. 

A short term for representatives was agreed upon, for 
it was the design to make them dependent on the will of 

50 


ORGANIZATION OF LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 51 

the people. The question frequently arises, therefore, 
ought representatives to be compelled to receive instruc¬ 
tions from those who elect them ? May we not agree 
that our legislation would often be more efficient if the 
welfare of the Nation were considered, rather than what 
seems, for the moment, to be only the concern of a dis¬ 
trict or even a State ? Securing the best interests of 
all may mean at times, also, the sacrifice of mere party 
principles. 

Who may vote for Representatives. — By the words people 
and electors is meant voters. With the desire to make 
the House of Representatives the more popular branch, 
it was decided to grant the right of voting for a represen¬ 
tative to any person who might be privileged to vote for 
a member of the lower house of the Legislature of his 
State. The freedom of a State to determine what these 
qualifications are, is limited only by the provisions of the 
fifteenth amendment: — 

Amendment XV. The right of citizens of the United 
States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United 
States , or by any State , on account of race , color , or previous 
condition of servitude. 

This amendment was proposed by Congress in Febru¬ 
ary, 1869, and was declared in force, March 30, 1870. 
It was for the purpose of granting more complete political 
rights to the negroes, recently declared, by Amendment 
XIV, to be citizens. 

Method and Time of choosing Representatives. — The 
Constitution prescribes that representatives shall be elected 
by the people. Congress has provided that represen- 


52 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


tatives shall be chosen on the Tuesday next after the 
first Monday in November of the even-numbered years. 1 
Congress has also decreed that representatives shall be 
chosen by districts ; but the State Legislature has complete 
control of the districting of its State. However, Congress 
has declared that these districts shall be composed of 
contiguous territory, and contain, as nearly as practicable, 
an equal number of inhabitants. Now, usage has defined 
territory to be contiguous when it touches another portion 
of the district at any one point. As a result of this ques¬ 
tionable interpretation, some States have been divided into 
districts of fantastic shapes, to promote the interests of 
the party having the majority in the State Legislature. 2 

Proportional Representation. — Proportional representation, which 
is coming into favor in these days, would doubtless do much toward 
remedying this abuse. According to the present system of electing rep¬ 
resentatives by districts, large minorities of voters are not represented. 
Numerous plans of “ Proportional Representation” have been advocated. 
One such plan is in operation in Illinois 3 for the election of members 
to the State house of representatives. Each district elects three mem¬ 
bers on a general ticket. The voter may give one vote to each candi¬ 
date, or one and a half votes to each of two candidates, or three votes 
to a single candidate. Therefore, the minority, by concentrating their 
votes on one candidate, may elect a representative to the Legislature, 
when under the district system they would not be represented. 

Qualifications of Representatives.— Section 2, Clause 2. 

No person shall be a representative who shall not have 

1 The only exceptions to this rule are: Oregon holds its election on the 
first Monday in June ; Vermont, on the first Tuesday in November ; and 
Maine, on the second Monday in September. 

2 This process is called “ gerrymandering.” See, also, “ Government in 
State and Nation,” pp. 153, 154. 

3 On Proportional Representation, read “ Government in State and Na¬ 
tion,” pp. 13, 14, 15. 


ORGANIZATION OF LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 53 

attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years 
a citizen of the United States , and who shall not i when 
elected , be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be 
chosen. 

In the original States there was great diversity of quali¬ 
fications for members of the lower houses of their Legisla¬ 
tures. But some uniform system was necessary for the 
National organization, and so the few simple requirements 
of this clause were introduced. It is understood, however, 
that the States may not add other qualifications. While a 
representative must be an inhabitant of the State in which 
he is chosen, he need not, so far as the Constitution 
requires, be an inhabitant of the district. But the in¬ 
stances have been few in which a member of the House has 
not been also an inhabitant of the district which he repre¬ 
sents. According to the English system of representation, 
a member of the House of Commons frequently represents 
a borough or county in an entirely different part of the 
kingdom from that of which he is an inhabitant. 

May the House refuse to admit a person duly elected and possessing 
the necessary qualifications ? This question arose in the 56th Congress, 
in the case of Brigham Roberts of Utah. He was finally excluded. 

Present System of apportioning Representatives.— Sec¬ 
tion 2 of Amendment XIV contains the rule of apportion¬ 
ment that is now in operation. This became a part of the 
Constitution, July 28, 1868. 

Representatives shall be apportioned among the sevei'al 
States according to their respective numbers , counting the 
whole number of persons in each State , excluding Indians 
not taxed ' But when the right to vote at any election for 


54 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of 
the United States, representatives in Congress, the execu¬ 
tive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the 
legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants 
of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens 
of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for 
participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of repre¬ 
sentation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the 
number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number 
of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. 

The second sentence of this section was framed in the 
belief that the States, rather than lose a portion of their 
representatives in Congress, would grant the right of 
suffrage to negroes already declared to be citizens. 
But proportional reduction of representatives was never 
put into practical operation, for before the next apportion¬ 
ment of representatives, Amendment XV became a part of 
the Constitution, and negro suffrage was put on the same 
basis as white. However, the enforcement of Section 2 of 
Amendment XIV has been strongly urged in our own time. 
This is because it is estimated that many thousand have been 
disfranchised through the restrictions on the right of suffrage 
found in several of our State constitutions. Some require an 
educational test and others a property qualification for voting. 

The “Indians not taxed” doubtless refers to those 
Indians who still maintain their tribal relations or who 
live on reservations in the several States. Their number, 
according to the census of 1900, was 44,617. 

Early Apportionment. — The number of representatives 
to which each of the States was originally entitled is given 


ORGANIZATION OF LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 55 


in Section 2, Clause 3, of the article we are now consid¬ 
ering as follows: — 

Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned 
among the several States which may be included within this 
Union , according to their respective numbers, which shall be 
determined by adding to the whole number of free persons , 
including those bound to service for a term of years, and ex¬ 
cluding Indians not taxed , three-fifths of all other persons. 
The actual enumeration shall be made within three years 
after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States y 
and within every subsequent term of ten years , in such 
manner as they shall by law direct. The number of repre¬ 
sentatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand , but 
each State shall have at least one representative; and until 
such enumeration shall be made , the State of New Hamp¬ 
shire shall be entitled to choose three , Massachusetts eight , 
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one , Connecticut 
five , New York six, New fersey four , Pennsylvania eight, 
Delaware one , Maryland six , Virginia ten , North Carolina 
five , South Carolina five , and Georgia three. 

The three-fifths rule was rendered void by the adoption 
of Amendment XIII, which abolished slavery, since there 
were no longer the “other persons.” That part of the 
clause which provides for the laying of direct taxes is still 
in force. 

The Census. —In order to carryout the provision of the Constitu¬ 
tion, an “actual enumeration” was made in 1790. Since that date 
there has been a census every ten years. The taking of the census and 
the compilation and publication of the statistics connected with it are 
under the supervision of the director of the census. Work on the 
twelfth census was begun June 1, 1900, and required over 50,000 
enumerators, 2500 clerks, and 2000 special agents. The cost was some 


5<5 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


$ 12 , 000 , 000 . The most important volumes found in the report are 
those on population, 1 manufactures, and agriculture. The taking of the 
census will, in the future, be more economical and efficient because of 
the establishment of the permanent census bureau by an act of Con¬ 
gress in 1902. 

Ratio of Representation. — The Constitution provided that there 
should be 65 members in the first House of Representatives. After 
the first census, Congress agreed that there should be one representa¬ 
tive for each 33,000 of the population. This gave a house with 105 
representatives. From that time the ratio of representation has been 
changed every ten years. Otherwise, with the rapid increase in popula¬ 
tion, the House would soon become too large. The ratio adopted by 
die act of January 12, 1901, was one representative to 194,182 people. 2 
After March 4, 1903, therefore, there will be at least 386 members in 
the House, if the membership is complete. 3 

Members from New States. — Should a new State be ad¬ 
mitted after the apportionment is made, its representatives 
are always additional to the number provided for by law. 

The Constitution provides that each State shall have at 
least one representative. If this provision had not been 
made, the States of Delaware, Idaho, Nevada, and Wyo¬ 
ming, each having a smaller population than the ratio 
adopted in 1901, would not be represented. 

Territorial Delegates. —The organized Territories are 
each entitled to send a delegate to the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives. He is allowed to speak on any question that 
has to do with his Territory, but may not vote. 

1 The population of the United States, according to the first census, was 
3,929,214. The population in 1900 was 76,303,387. 

2 For the method of apportionment, see “ Government in State and Na¬ 
tion,” p. 145. 

3 The number of members in the English House of Commons is 670 ; in 
the French Chamber of Deputies, 584 ; and in the German Reichstag, 396. 


ORGANIZATION OF LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 57 

Vacancies. — Section 2, Clause 4. When vacancies 
happen in the representation from any State, the executive 
authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies . 

When a vacancy occurs in the representation from any 
State on account of death, expulsion, or for other cause, it 
is made the duty of the Governor of the State in which the 
vacancy exists to call for a special election in that district 
to choose a representative for the remainder of the term. 

Officers. — Section 2, Clause 5. The House of Repre¬ 
sentatives shall choose their Speaker and other officers, and 
shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

The Speaker, who is the presiding officer, has always 
been a member of the House, but the Constitution does 
not say that he shall be. The other officers are the Clerk, 
Sergeant-at-Arms, Doorkeeper, Postmaster, and Chaplain, 
none of whom is a member of the House. 

Number and Term of Office of Senators. — Section 3, 
Clause 1. The Senate of the United States shall be com¬ 
posed of two senators from each State, chosen by the legis¬ 
lature thereof for six years, and each senator shall have one 
vote. 

As we have seen, the provision that there should be two 
senators from each State was the result of a compromise. 
Consequently New York and Pennsylvania have but the 
same number as Delaware and Nevada. 1 The term of six 
years for senators was likewise a compromise measure. 
There were members of the convention who favored three 

1 The Senate now contains 90 members ; the English House of Lords, 
560; and the French Senate, 300. 


58 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


years; others wanted nine years, and Hamilton desired 
that the term should be during good behavior. Many 
States have practically lengthened the prescribed term by 
the wise policy of returning acceptable senators for more 
than one term. Although elected by the State Legislature, 
senators do not vote by States. The senators from a 
State may, and often do, vote on opposite sides of a 
question. 

Qualifications of Senators. — Section 3, Clause 3. No 
person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to 
the age of thirty years , and been nine years a citizen of 
the United States , and who shall not , when elected, be an 
inhabitant of that State from which he shall be chosen. 

The reasons for requiring different qualifications in 
senators from those of representatives is expressed in 
“The Federalist” as follows: “The propriety of these dis¬ 
tinctions is explained by the nature of the senatorial trust, 
which, requiring greater extent of information and stability 
of character, requires at the same time that the senator 
should have reached a period of life most likely to supply 
these advantages.” The attitude of Americans toward the 
Senate to-day differs from that manifest during the first 
quarter century of our history. Has the Senate degen¬ 
erated? is a question frequently asked. The presence in 
that body of numerous millionaires has also excited un¬ 
favorable comment. There have been two instances only 
in which senators have been disqualified because of inade¬ 
quate citizenship. 

Times and Places for electing Senators and Representa¬ 
tives. — Section 4, Clause 1. The times , places , and ma7i- 


ORGANIZATION OF LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 59 


tier of holding elections for senators and representatives 
shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature thereof; 
but the Congress may at any time , by law , make or alter 
such regulations, except as to the place of choosing senators. 

It is desirable that Congress should have the final au¬ 
thority in providing for the election of its own members, 
because the very existence of the Union might otherwise 
be left, at times, to the whims of the State Legislatures. 
Congress, in 1866, provided for the system now in use. 

The Legislature, chosen next before the expiration of the term of a 
senator, proceeds to elect his successor on the second Tuesday after its 
organization. On that day each house must vote separately by a viva 
voce vote. The two houses are required to meet in joint assembly at 
noon the following day, when the results are read. If the same person 
has received a majority of the votes in both houses, he is elected. If 
no person have such majority, the joint assembly must take a viva voce 
vote. The person receiving a majority of such votes is elected, pro¬ 
viding a majority of all the members elected to both houses are present 
and voting. Should there still be no election, the joint assembly must 
meet at noon on each succeeding day, and take at least one vote until 
a senator shall have been chosen. The procedure is the same in the 
case of a vacancy which has occurred before the Legislature has assem¬ 
bled. When the vacancy happens during the session of the Legislature, 
it must proceed in the same way the second Tuesday after receiving 
notice of the vacancy. 

Election of Senators by Popular Vote. — Shall United States sena¬ 
tors be elected by popular vote? This question has been much dis¬ 
cussed in recent years. Deadlocks and bribery in State Legislatures 
have done much to bring it into prominence. Besides, there is a grow¬ 
ing feeling that the people are quite as competent to elect United States 
senators as they are to choose other officers. The House of Repre¬ 
sentatives, on several occasions, has passed a resolution favoring an 
amendment to the Constitution that will secure this result; but each 
time it has failed in the Senate. At the beginning of the year 1903 
there were twenty-seven of the State Legislatures on record as in favor 
of this reform. That the people generally desire such an amendment 


6o 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


cannot be questioned, if we may judge by the vote cast in Illinois in the 
November election of 1902. 451,319 voters favored popular election 
of senators; 76,975 opposed. 

Vacancies in the Senate. — As provided in Clause 2, of 
Section 3 of the article we are considering, a vacancy 
occurring in the Senate during the recess of the Legisla¬ 
ture of any State may be filled, temporarily, through an 
appointment made by the Governor of that State. A 
senator thus appointed holds his office until the Legisla¬ 
ture meets. In case that body fails to elect his successor, 
he retains the office until the end of the session of the 
Legislature. But the State will then lack one member in 
the Senate, because the governor may not, by appoint¬ 
ment, fill a vacancy resulting from the failure of the 
legislature to elect. 1 

Classes of Senators. — Section 3, Clause 2. Immediately 
after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first elec- 
tion , they shall be divided , as equally as may be , into three 
classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be 
vacated at the expiration of the second year; of the second 
class , at the expiration of the fourth year; and of the third 
class , at the expiration of the sixth year; so that one-third 
may be chosen every second year , and if vacancies happen by 
resignation or otherwise , during the recess of the legislature 
of any State , the executive thereof may make temporary 
appointments until the next meeting of the legislature , which 
shall then fill such vacancies. 

This provision makes the Senate a permanent body, 
since only one-third of the members go out of office every 
two years. In the first session of the first Congress the 

1 For a test case, see “ Government in State and Nation,” p. 149. 


ORGANIZATION OF LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 61 


senators were divided into three classes. It has been the 
custom to place the senators from new States in different 
classes. This is done in order to preserve, so far as pos¬ 
sible, the equality of numbers in each class. Besides, a 
State is thus enabled to keep one man of experience in the 
Senate. When a new State is admitted, the senators from 
that State determine by lot, drawn in the presence of the 
Senate, which classes they are to enter. Thus when 
Utah was admitted, her Senators were assigned to the 
two and four year classes, neither of them serving the 
full term of six years. 

President of the Senate. — Section 3, Clause 4. The 

Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the 
Senate , bat shall have no vote unless they be equally divided. 

Other Officers. — Section 3, Clause 5. The Senate shall 
choose their other officers , and also a President pro tempore , 
in the absence of the Vice-President , or when he shall exercise 
the office of Preside 7 it of the United States. 

The Vice-President of the United States is the presiding 
officer of the Senate. He cannot take part in debates, and 
has no vote unless there be a tie. In marked contrast with 
the power of the Speaker, he cannot name the committees, 
and has no direct authority in legislation. Indeed, the 
office is regarded as one of so little influence that it is 
sometimes difficult to secure, as candidates for it, men of 
recognized prominence. 

The other officers of the Senate are Secretary, Chief 
Clerk, Sergeant-at-arms, Chaplain, Postmaster, Librarian, 
and Doorkeeper, none of whom is a member of the Senate. 
It is desirable, in the absence of the Vice-President, that 


62 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


the Senate should have a presiding officer. At the open¬ 
ing of the session, therefore, that body chooses from its 
own members a president pro tempore. He may vote on 
any question, but cannot cast the deciding vote in case of 
a tie. 

When Congress Meets. — Section 4, Clause 2. The 
Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such 
meeting shall be on the first Monday in December , unless 
they shall by law appoint a different day. 

As we have already seen, representatives are elected 
for a term of two years. This period defines the length 
of a Congress. Representatives, as we know, are chosen 
on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. 
Now the term of office of a representative begins legally 
on the fourth of March succeeding the time of his election. 1 
Except in the case of a special session, this term does 
not really begin until the first Monday of the following 
December, or thirteen months after the election. It would 
seem desirable that the members should be given an 
earlier opportunity to express themselves on the issues 
upon which they have been chosen. 

Sessions of Congress. — Each Congress has two regular 
sessions. The first is called the “long session,” for its 
length is not determined by a definite date of adjournment. 
It usually lasts until midsummer and may not extend be¬ 
yond the first Monday in December, the time fixed for 
the beginning of the next session. The second, or “short 
session,” cannot extend beyond 12 m . of March 4, the time 

1 The limits of the 58th Congress will be March 4, 1903, to March 4, 1905. 


ORGANIZATION OF LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 63 

set for a new Congress to begin. The President may con¬ 
vene Congress in special session. 

Organization of Congress. — The first Monday in December of each 
second year is a notable day in Washington, for the formal opening of 
a new Congress is regarded as an important event. The House of 
Representatives must go through the entire process of organization. 
To the Clerk of the preceding House are intrusted the credentials of the 
members, and from these he makes out a list of those who are shown to 
be regularly elected. At the hour of assembly he calls the roll from 
this list, announces whether or not a quorum is present, and states that 
the first business is to elect a Speaker. After his election, the Speaker 
takes the oath of office, which is administered by the member who has 
had the longest service in the House. The Speaker then administers 
the oath to the members by States. The election of the Chief Clerk 
and the other officers follows, after which the House is said to be 
organized. 

The Senate is a “continuing body,” and no formal organization is 
necessary. At the opening of a new Congress the Vice-President calls 
the Senate to order and the other officers resume their duties. After 
the President pro te?npore has been chosen, the newly elected members 
are escorted to the desk in groups of four, and the oath is administered 
by the President of the Senate. Each house, when organized, notifies 
vhe other of the fact, and a joint committee of the Houses is appointed 
to wait upon the President and inform him that quorums are present 
and are ready to receive any communication he may desire to send. 

The House of Representatives occupies a large hall in the south wing 
of the Capitol. The desks of the members are arranged in a semicircle 
about that of the Speaker, with the Republicans on his left and the 
Democrats on his right. When a member gains the floor, he speaks 
from his own desk or from the space in front of the Speaker’s desk. 
Unless the question is one of importance, but little attention is paid to 
the course of debate. Consequently a visitor can hear only with great 
effort because of the constant din produced by the shuffling of papers, 
clapping of hands for pagps, etc. The real work of Congress, as we 
shall see, is done in committees. The Senate occupies a hall at the 
opposite end of the Capitol. It is, of course, much smaller than that 
occupied by the House, but is similarly arranged. In general, the pro¬ 
ceedings on the floor of the Senate are conducted in a much more orderly 
manner than is usual in the House. 


6 4 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES. 

1. What is the number of the present Congress ? Give the dates for 

the beginning and end of each session. 

2. In the States which have woman suffrage, may women vote for 

representatives ? 

3. It is not required by law that a representative shall reside in the 

district that he represents, but it is an established custom. 
What are its advantages and disadvantages? Compare with 
the English practice. Bryce, American Commonwealth, I, 
Chapter 19. 

4. Were the States mentioned on p. 54 justified in the enactment 

of their suffrage laws ? 

5. Ought Section 2, Amendment XIV, to be enforced? Rev. of R’s, 

22:273-275,653,654; 24:649-651; Forum, 31:225-230; 32: 
460-465 ; N. Am. Rev., 168: 285-296 ; 170: 785-801 ; 175: 534- 
543 ; Outlook, 69 : 751. 

6. State the points of likeness and of difference between the House 

of Representatives and the House of Commons. N. Am. Rev., 
170: 78-86. 

7. Give the number of representatives to which your State is entitled. 

Was the number increased in the last apportionment ? How 
large is your Congressional district ? Population ? 

8. Compare the area of your district with that of other districts in 

your State ; also with the population of other districts. Com¬ 
pare the number of votes cast for Representative in your dis¬ 
trict with the number cast in districts of other States in different 
sections of the country. How do you account for the variation ? 
See New York World Almanac. 

9. Some interesting facts connected with the apportionment of 1901 

are given in the Forum, 30: 568-577. 

10. For the Reapportionment Law of 1901, see Outlook, 67 :136. 

11. For accounts of the methods by which a census is taken, see 

American Census Methods, Forum, 30:109-119. Census of 
igoo, N. Am. Rev., 170 : 650-652. 

12. Who are some of the best-known representatives and senators? 

For what reasons are they noted ? 

13. Who are the senators from your State ? When was each elected ? 


ORGANIZATION OF LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 65 


14. Give the names of the Speaker and of the President pro 

tempore. 

15. Has the Senate degenerated ? Should senators be elected by 

popular vote? Outlook, 67: 559, 604, 774 a ; 73: 277-285, 386- 
3g2. For other references, see James and Sanford, Govern¬ 
ment in State and Nation, p. 157. 


P 


CHAPTER VIII. 


POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE SEPARATE HOUSES. 

I. Impeachment. 

Article II, Section 4. The President, Vice-President and 
all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from 
office on impeachment for , and conviction of, treason, bribery, 
or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

Article I, Section 2, Clause 5. The House of Represen¬ 
tatives shall . . . have the sole power of impeachment. 

Section 3, Clause 6. The Senate shall have the sole 
power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that pur¬ 
pose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the Presi¬ 
dent of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall 
preside; and no person shall be convicted without the con¬ 
currence of two-thirds of the members present. 

Section 3, Clause 7. Judgment in cases of impeachment 
shall not extend further than to removal from office and dis¬ 
qualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or 
profit under the United States ; but the party convicted shall 
nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judg¬ 
ment, and punishment according to law. 

There have been but seven impeachment trials in the 
history of our government. Section 4 of Article II declares 
who may be impeached. The expression “ civil officer ” 

66 


POWERS AND DUTIES OF SEPARATE HOUSES. 67 


does not include military and naval officers. They are 
subject to trial by court-martial. Members of Congress 
may not be impeached, since the Constitution authorizes 
each house to bring to trial and punish its own members. 
Clause 5 of Section 2, and Clauses 6 and 7 of Section 3, 
Article I, give the method of procedure against an officer 
who may be charged with “ treason, bribery, or other high 
crimes and misdemeanors.” The articles of impeachment 
preferred by the House of Representatives correspond to 
the indictment in a criminal trial. The manner of con¬ 
ducting an impeachment trial, in the Senate, resembles 
also a trial by jury. 1 That the “Chief Justice shall pre¬ 
side” during the trial of the President of the United States 
is a wise provision, because it is easy to presume that a 
Vice-President might be personally interested in the con¬ 
viction of a President. 

II. The Quorum, Journal, and Freedom of Speech. 

Determination of Membership and Quorums. — Section 5, 

Clause 1. Each house shall be the judge of the elections , 
returns , and qualifications of its own members , and a 
majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business ; 
but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day , and 
may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent mem¬ 
bers, in such manner and tender such penalties as each house 
may provide. 

In the Senate the question raised in a contest usually 
applies to whether a senator has been duly elected. It 
has been held by the Senate that to deprive a member of 

1 See “ Government in State and Nation,” p. 159. 


68 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


his seat for bribery or corruption in the course of his elec¬ 
tion, it must be shown that he was personally guilty of 
corrupt practices, that the corruption took place with his 
sanction, or that a number of votes sufficient to affect the 
result were corruptly changed. As an instance, Mr. 
Clark of Montana was refused a seat in the Senate during 
the first session of the 56th Congress, because it was 
proved that he had secured his election by bribing mem¬ 
bers of the State Legislature. 

In the House the name of the person possessing the 
certificate of election signed by the governor of his State 
is entered on the roll of the House, but the seat may still 
be contested. Many cases of contested elections are con¬ 
sidered by each new House. There were thirty-two seats 
contested in the 54th Congress. Such cases are referred 
to the Committee on Elections, which hears the testimony, 
and presents it to the House for final decision. Each of 
the cases when presented to the House consumes from 
two to five days which might otherwise be used for the 
purposes of legislation. The law provides that no more 
than $2,000 shall be paid either of the contestants for 
expenses, but even then, it is estimated, these contests cost 
the government, all told, $40,000 annually. When the 
decision is rendered by the House, the vote is, in most 
cases, strictly on party lines, regardless of the testimony. 
In view of these facts, it has been suggested that the 
Supreme Court decide all contested elections. 

How a Quorum is Secured.— If it appears, upon the 
count of the Speaker, or upon the roll-call of the House, 
that a majority is not present, business must be suspended 


POWERS AND DUTIES OF SEPARATE HOUSES. 6 9 

until a quorum is secured. Fifteen members, including 
the Speaker, may be authorized to compel the attendance 
of absent members. This is accomplished as follows: The 
doors of the House are closed, the roll is called, and 
absentees noted. The Sergeant-at-arms, when directed by 
the majority of those present, sends for, arrests, and brings 
into the House those members who have not sufficient 
excuse for absence. When a quorum is secured, business 
is resumed. 

Rules and Discipline. — Section 5, Clause 2. Each house 
may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its 
members for disorderly behavior , and, with the concurrence 
of two-thirds , expel a member. 

The Journal. Section 5, Clause 3. Each house shall 
keep a journal of its proceedings and from time to time 
publish the same , excepting such parts as may in their judg¬ 
ment require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members 
of either house on any question shall , at the desire of one- 
fifth of those present , be entered on the journal. 

Our Knowledge of Congressional Proceedings.—As citi¬ 
zens in a republican government, it is our duty to keep in¬ 
formed on the problems which our representatives are 
called upon to solve. Means of gaining information are not 
wanting. The public galleries of both Houses are usually 
open to visitors. The official record of the proceedings of 
Congress is made known to the public through the Journal, 
which is read at the opening of each day’s session. Reports 
of the debates do not appear in the Journal, but are pub^ 
lished each day in the Congressional Record. 

Another means of keeping constituents informed on the 


70 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


position of their representatives is through the recording 
in the Journal of the vote of each member when demanded 
by one-fifth of those present. In voting by the “ yeas and 
nays,” the clerk calls the roll of members and places after 
each name, “yea,” “nay,” “not voting,” or “absent.” 
The Senate rules specify this as the only method of voting. 
(Other methods of voting in the House are indicated on 
page 80.) 

Power to Adjourn. — Section 5, Clause 4. Neither house, 
during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent 
of the other, adjourn for more than three days , nor to any 
other place than that in which the two houses shall be 
sitting. 

If there is a disagreement between the two houses with 
respect to the time of adjournment, the President may 
adjourn them to such a time as he thinks proper. This 
right has never yet been exercised. 

Compensation and Freedom from Arrest. — Section 6, 

Clause 1. The senators and representatives shall receive 
a compe 7 isation for their services, to be ascertained by law, 
and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They 
shall in all cases, except treason , felony, and breach of the 
peace, be privileged from arrest durmg their attendance at 
the sessions of their respective houses, and going to and re¬ 
turning from the same; and for any speech or debate in 
either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

Should the members of Congress be paid a salary, or 
should the office be regarded as exclusively one of honor ? 
These questions were discussed at length in the Constitu¬ 
tional Convention. Some of the delegates favored the 


POWERS AND DUTIES OF SEPARATE HOUSES. 71 


English custom, by which members of Parliament receive 
no salary. It was finally concluded to adopt the provi¬ 
sions as given, in order that men of ability, though poor, 
might become members of the National Legislature. 

By a law of 1789 the compensation of senators and representatives was 
fixed at six dollars per day and thirty cents for every mile traveled, by 
the most direct route, in going to and returning from the seat of govern¬ 
ment. Prior to 1873, this amount was changed several times by act of 
Congress. The compensation then agreed upon and still paid is $5000 
per year, with mileage of twenty cents, and $125 per annum for stationery. 
The Speaker receives $8000 a year and mileage. The President pro 
tempore receives the same amount while acting as President of the 
Senate. 

To many people $5000 seems a large salary, but the great expense of 
living in Washington, especially if a Congressman and his family take 
part in the social life of the capital, renders the salary quite inadequate. 
Members have been known to pay more than their salaries for house- 
rent alone. Many members make a financial sacrifice in accepting a 
seat in Congress. 

To hold Other Offices. Disqualification. — Section 6, 
Clause 2. No senator or representative shall , during the 
time for which he is elected , be appointed to any civil office 
under the authority of the United States which shall have 
been created , or the emoluments whereof shall have been in¬ 
creased,\ during such time; and no person holding any 
office under the United States shall be a member of either 
house during his continuance in office . 

The purpose of this provision seems to have been to 
remove the temptation on the part of Congressmen to 
create offices, or to increase the emoluments of those 
already existing, in order to profit by such legislation. The 
exclusion of United States officials from seats in Congress 
was due to the desire of appeasing State jealousy, which 


72 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


asserted that the National government would in this way 
secure * an undue influence over the State governments. 
It is advocated, with good reason, that members of the 
Cabinet should be privileged to take part in the discussion 
of measures in Congress which pertain to their own depart¬ 
ments. Alexander Hamilton asked for this privilege. It 
was refused because of the belief that he would exert too 
great influence over the members. The precedent thus 
established has always been retained. 

But since executive officers are often invited to present 
their views before committees of Congress, they may, in 
this way, exert great influence upon legislation. 


CHAPTER IX. 


HOW LAWS ARE MADE BY CONGRESS. 

Methods of Procedure developed by Custom. —Very little 
can be learned directly from the Constitution concerning 
the actual methods employed in the enactment of laws by 
Congress. In both houses, procedure in the conduct 
of their business has been developed by custom; it has 
changed from time to time as determined by circumstances, 
and it has taken on forms that were entirely unanticipated 
by the founders of our government. The principal reason 
why new methods of Congressional procedure have be¬ 
come necessary may be found in the growth of the amount 
of business presented to Congress for consideration; this, 
in turn, has been caused by the growth of population and 
wealth, and by the expansion of business relations through¬ 
out this country and with other nations. 

Several features of Congressional organization may be 
mentioned as very important in determining the course of 
legislation. These are : — 

I. The Committee System. 

II. The House Committee on Rules. 

III. The Speaker of the House. 

IV. The Influence of Party Caucuses. 

I. The Committee System . — Two facts made this system 
necessary in the houses of Congress, (i) The number oi 

73 


74 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


members, especially in the House of Representatives, is so 
large that business cannot be transacted with dispatch by 
the entire body. , (2) The number of bills introduced is so 
very great that it is impossible for either house to consider 
all of them; hence it is necessary that committees shall 
examine the bills and decide which are worthy of consider¬ 
ation. 

In the long session of the 58th Congress, more than 15,000 bills 
were introduced into the House. The number of committees in the 
House was 60, the membership varying from 3 to 18. The most im¬ 
portant House committees are those on Ways and Means (which has 
charge of all bills for raising revenue), Appropriations, Banking and 
Currency, Foreign Affairs, and Military Affairs. In the Senate of the 
58th Congress there were 55 standing committees. The number of 
members on a committee was in most cases 9 or 11. A few of the 
Senate committees are those on Finance (corresponding to the commit¬ 
tee on Ways and Means in the House), Agriculture, Commerce, and 
Foreign Relations. 

Both in the House and in the Senate, every member is on some com¬ 
mittee, and some members have places on several committees. In the 
House of Representatives the Speaker appoints the committees, and he 
selects the chairman and a majority of the members of each committee 
from the members of his own party; that is, from the party that has a 
majority in the House. The Senate committees are constituted in ac¬ 
cordance with the same rule; but in the Senate the committees are 
elected, rather than appointed. 

Steps in the Progress of a Bill. — The importance of the 
committee system in Congress is found in the power of 
committees to determine the destiny of bills that are com¬ 
mitted to their charge. The introduction of a bill by a 
member of either house is merely a formal step; the bill is 
immediately referred to a committee. When the committee 
reports the bill back, the house will in a great majority of 
cases pass or reject it according to the committee’s recom- 


HOW LAWS ARE MADE BY CONGRESS. 


75 


mendation. Few bills are debated in either house, and in 
the most of these cases the discussion has no influence 
upon the fate of the bill — it is meant merely to be heard 
or to be printed. Hence, it is in that intermediate stage 
between the reference of the bill to a committee and the 
report on it that the real work of legislation is accomplished. 

The Power of Committees over Bills. — In the course of 
its deliberations a committee may exercise the utmost free¬ 
dom with respect to the bills referred to it. The greater 
number of bills receive no consideration whatever from the 
committees ; these may never be reported if the committees 
see fit to ignore them. Other bills are amended by the 
committees, or new bills are substituted for them. Such is 
the power intrusted to Congressional committees. How¬ 
ever undesirable in some respects this method of legisla¬ 
tion may seem, its necessity has fixed it as a permanent 
feature of Congressional procedure. 

Many of the important committees have separate rooms where their 
meetings are held. Here the members may confer in secret, or they 
may allow or invite the hearing of testimony and arguments upon the 
subjects of bills. Frequently the majority members of a committee 
hold separate meetings, determine their policy, and then adhere to it 
regardless of the wishes of the minority members. The latter may pre¬ 
sent a separate report called the minority report of the committee. 

II. The Committee on Rules. — Since only a small pro¬ 
portion of the bills that are reported favorably can receive 
consideration and come to a vote, the question now arises, 
How is it determined which bills shall be thus favored ? 
In some measure this depends upon the importance and 
the merits of the bill; but it depends more upon the skill 
and influence of the member (generally the chairman of 


;6 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


the committee reporting the bill) who is particularly in¬ 
terested in seeing it enacted into law. In the House of 
Representatives this important matter is decided by the 
Committee on Rules, which is composed of five members, 
three being of the party that has a majority in the House. 
This committee decides which bills shall be considered, and 
how much time shall be given to the discussion of each 
one. Thus it practically dictates the course of legislation 
in the House. Sometimes the committee is overruled by 
an opposition composed of the minority members of the 
House together with a few rebellious members of the 
majority party; but such a revolt is exceptional, and 
usually the Committee on Rules has its way. Some cen¬ 
tral authority like this, with dictatorial, power, seems 
necessary in order to settle the disputes and rivalries 
arising among influential members and important commit¬ 
tees; these would block each other’s progress, and no 
legislation whatever would be accomplished, were there 
not some power to decide which, in each case, shall have 
the right of way. 

III. The Power of the Speaker .—As the Committee on 
Rules decides the programme to be followed in each day’s 
proceedings in the House, the Speaker is the executive 
officer who sees that the programme is adhered to. Indeed, 
the Speaker is chairman of the Committee on Rules and 
is its most influential member. No bill can come before 
the House, and no member can address the House, without 
the Speaker’s consent. In all important matters, it is 
necessary for a member to make an arrangement with the 
Speaker in order to secure recognition when he wishes to 
address the House- 


HOW LAWS ARE MADE BY CONGRESS. 


77 


In exercising the power of recognition , the Speaker will, 
of course, give both the sides a fair opportunity to debate 
upon important measures. He will not permit members to 
make motions, or to protract debate, merely for the sake of 
delaying some action to which they are opposed. Within 
recent years, obstructive tactics , popularly known as fili¬ 
bustering , are of rare occurrence in the House. Be¬ 
fore these extensive and arbitrary powers were intrusted 
to the Speaker, the minority members more frequently 
obstructed the work of the House and prevented all legis¬ 
lation because of their opposition to a particular bill. 

Two powers of the Speaker remain to be mentioned 
which are no less important in their influence on legislation 
than those already considered. He appoints all commit¬ 
tees of the House, and in this way marks out in some im¬ 
portant matters the policy that will be pursued in legisla¬ 
tion. Again, the Speaker refers all bills introduced into 
the House to their appropriate committees. Sometimes the 
Speaker may exercise his discretion with regard to the 
committee to which he refers a certain bill, and in such, 
cases his influence upon the fate of the bill is important. 

We are endeavoring to analyze the complicated action 
of the forces that determine which bills shall, and which 
shall not, be enacted by Congress. So far, we discover 
that great authority is intrusted to small groups of mem¬ 
bers— the committees. These practically determine the 
contents of all bills. We find in the House a central 
directive committee (that on Rules) deciding which bills 
shall be dropped and which may be considered. Finally, 
we find that the Speaker is the most influential member of 
Congress, executing the decisions of the Committee on 


78 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


Rules (that is, chiefly his own will) and deciding impor¬ 
tant questions at critical moments in the course of the 
daily business of the House. 

The Lobby, Log-rolling, and Patronage.—Not all the bills that 
come before Congress are passed or rejected on their merits. The 
influences that determine the course of legislation at Washington are 
very numerous and complicated. Some of these influences are to a 
greater or less extent legitimate, and others are totally bad. The 
lobby, in its broadest sense, is composed of all those persons who go to 
Washington in order to exert pressure upon Congressmen in favor of or 
against certain measures. Some of the best laws and some of the 
worst are enacted through the influence of the lobbyist. Log-rolling 
is an important influence in determining legislation; a member votes 
for the pet measure of his fellow-congressman on condition that the 
latter will vote for the bill in which he is particularly interested. Political 
patronage is a great factor in determining votes in Congress ; the power 
of members to recommend appointments, 1 and the influences exerted 
in their favor by the appointees, often determine the question of their 
continuance in office. Consequently, there is a great temptation to use 
patronage in exchange for votes. The use of money directly in bribery 
is difficult of detection, but other favors and privileges of pecuniary 
value are no less effective in the purchase of the votes of those members 
who are so unscrupulous as to be open to such influences. 

Debate in the House. — The fate of nearly all bills that 
are introduced into Congress is determined by the inter¬ 
action of the various influences that have received attention 
so far in this chapter. Argument in debate is a small 
factor in arousing favorable influence or in changing votes. 
In the House, the Committee on Rules limits strictly the 
time given to debate. The chairman of the committee 
reporting a bill generally has one hour in which to urge 
the passage of his measure; for a portion of the time he 
may yield the floor to other members, both friends and 
opponents of the bill. Of course, much more than one 

1 See p, 134. 


HOW LAWS ARE MADE BY CONGRESS. 


7 9 


hour is given to debate on important bills. Many of the 
speeches which are printed in the Congressional Record 
have not been delivered; but they are intended for circula¬ 
tion among the constituents of Representatives, and for use 
as campaign documents. Many of the speeches that are 
actually delivered receive scant attention; the lack of 
interest in them is made evident by the noise and con¬ 
fusion that very often prevail during sessions of the House. 

Senate Procedure. — In the Senate, debate is not limited. 
Senators are expected to regard each other’s rights with 
respect to the amount of time and attention they may 
demand; yet a bill may be “ talked to death ” in the 
Senate. As a result, the Senate is less businesslike in its 
procedure than the House, and some means of checking 
unlimited discussion 1 have often been proposed for it. 

Conference Committees. — If one house amends a bill 
which has already passed the other, it must be returned 
:or re-passage to the house where it originated. This is 
a f-equent cause of conflict between the two houses, and 
each tries to insist on its rights. 2 

When such a dispute cannot be easily adjusted, a con¬ 
ference committee must be appointed. This is composed 
of members from each house, and they endeavor to arrange 
a compromise which will be acceptable to both houses. 
Generally their decision is ratified without question, but 
sometimes even this method of settlement fails. 

1 This is called, technically, a rule for “ closure.” 

2 Within very recent years the Senate has shown itself to be the stronger 
body. This is partly because its members have longer terms, and so become 
more skillful in exerting their influence and adhering to their demands. 


So 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


Methods of Voting. —There are three methods of voting 
in Congress, (i) Members respond “aye” or “no” by 
acclamation. (2) If a division is called for, a rising vote 
is taken and the members are counted. In the House, the 
counting is done by two tellers, who stand near the 
Speaker’s desk, while the members pass between them in 
single file, first those voting in the affirmative, and after¬ 
ward those opposing the motion. When the “ yeas and 
nays ” are called for, or whenever the rules of either house 
require them, the roll is called and each member votes as 
he responds to his name. This vote is entered on the 
journal. 1 

After the roll-call is completed, the presiding officer announces the 
pairs. Members who belong to different political parties may agree 
that they shall be recorded on opposite sides of party questions, 
whether they are present or not. Or pairs may be arranged for partial 
lar votes only. This device enables a member to be absent from his 
seat without feeling that his vote is needed. 

The Presidents Power in Lawmaking. — A bill which 
has received a majority vote in both houses is next sent to 
the President. 

Article 1, Section 7, Clause 2. Every bill which shall 
have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate 
shall , before it become a law , be presented to the President 
of the United States ; if he approve he shall sign it , but if 
not he shall return it , with his objections , to that house in 
which it shall have originated\ who shall enter the objec¬ 
tions at large on their journal and proceed to reconsider it. 
If after such reconsideration two-thirds of that house shall 
agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the 


1 See pp. 69-70. 


HOW LAWS ARE MADE BY CONGRESS. 


8 1 


objections , to the other house y by which it shall likewise be 
reconsidered , and if approved by two-thirds of that house it 
shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both 
houses shall be determined by yeas and nays , and the names 
of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered 
on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall 
not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays 
excepted ) after it shall have been presented to him , the same 
shall be a law , in like manner as if he had signed it , unless 
the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return , in 
zvhich case it shall not be a law. 

The framers of the Constitution intended that the veto 
power should be a check, though not an absolute one, upon 
hasty or unwise legislation. The President may cause a 
bill to fail by neither signing nor vetoing it during the last 
ten days of a session. The term pocket veto has been 
applied to this method of defeating bills. 

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES. 

1. Copies of the Congressional Record and the Congressional Direc¬ 

tory furnish interesting illustrations of the topics treated in this 
chapter. 

2. Procedure in the Senate, Ashley, The American Federal State, 

228-231. In the House, ibid., 250-258, 263-264. 

3. What difference is there in the granting of recognition in the 

Senate and House ? Harrison, This Country of Ours, 45-48. 

4. An interesting account of the appearance and character of the 

Senate, Bryce, I, 114-120 (117-123). 

5. The character of Representatives — procedure in the House — the 

number of bills introduced, Bryce, I, 124-134 (128-138). 

6. What appearance does the House make when at work ? Bryce, I, 

138-144 (142-148). 

7. An Englishman’s criticisms on our committee system, Bryce, I, 

153-160 (157-164). 


G 


82 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


8 . General observations on Congress, Bryce, I, Chapter ig. 
g. How are obstructive tactics carried on ? Alton, Among the Law¬ 
makers, Chapter 20. 

10. Why is there little debate in the House of Representatives? Wil¬ 

son, Congressional Government, 72-73, 86-102. 

11. The Senate, Forum, 31:423-431; N. Am. Rev., 174:230-244; 

Century Mag., 65 : 4gg~5i5. 

12. Our Process of Lawmaking, Arena, 23:480-484; Century Mag., 

64: 170-187. 

13. The Speaker’s Influence, Rev. of R’s, 21:85-86; Arena, 21: 

653-666. 

14. Comparisons of Congress with Parliament, N. Am. Rev., 170:78- 

86 ; Arena, 23 : 5g3~6o5. 


CHAPTER X. 


SOME IMPORTANT POWERS OF CONGRESS. 

I. National Finances. 

The Power of Taxation. — When we speak of the 
finances of a country, we mean its revenues and expendi¬ 
tures. Revenues have their origin chiefly 1 in taxation, 
and the power vested in Congress by virtue of which taxes 
are imposed and collected is found in the following clause: 

Article I, Section 8, Clause i. The Congress shall have 
power to lay and collect taxes> duties, imposts and excises, 
to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and 
general welfare of the United States; but all duties , impost^ 
and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States . 

Duties on Imports. — The two forms of taxes relied upon 
by the United States for its revenues are (i) duties and 
(2) excises. 2 A duty is a tax levied upon goods that are 
imported into the United States. 3 The merchant doing 
business in New York, for example, cannot obtain posses¬ 
sion of the goods he has imported until the officers of the 
custom-house at that port have examined the invoice , or 
the list of articles in each package, with their prices; and 

1 Considerable sums are derived by our National government from the sale 
of public lands. See Chapter on Territories and Public Lands. 

2 The terms duties and imposts are nearly synonymous. 

8 Duties on exports are prohibited in Section 9, Clause 5, of Article I: 
No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 

83 


8 4 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


the officers may examine the goods, also, to see if they 
correspond in amount and quality to the statements of the 
invoice. The importer then pays to the collector of the 
port of New York the amount of the duty levied on his 
importation. 

Kinds of Duties.— These are of two kinds, (i) Specific duties are 
fixed amounts levied on certain units of measurement of commodities, 
as the pound, yard, or gallon. (2) Ad valorem duties are levied at a 
certain rate per cent on the value of the articles taxed. Below are given 
several examples of duties imposed by the tariff law of 1897 (the Ding- 
ley law). 

Watches, 40 per cent ad val. 

Umbrellas, 50 per cent ad val. 

Leather manufactures, 35 per cent ad val. 

Glassware, 60 per cent ad val. 

Apples, 25 f per bushel. 

Honey, 20 f per gallon. 

Cheese, 6^ per pound. 

Table knives, 16^ each and 15 per cent ad val. 

Blankets, 22 f per pound and 30 per cent ad val. 

It is apparent that on some articles both kinds of duties are levied. 

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 1902, the total amount of duties 
collected was $254,500,000. New York is by far the most important 
port of entry. 

Passengers on steamships coming from foreign countries are required 
to declare what dutiable goods they have among their baggage, each 
person being allowed to enter $100 worth of goods free of duty. Upon 
landing, their baggage is examined; trunks and valises are opened, and 
in suspected cases the persons of travelers are searched for concealed 
dutiable goods. The temptation to undervaluation and to smuggling, 
in order to escape this form of taxation, is so great that constant vigi¬ 
lance is necessary at custom-houses and along the borders of the United 
States to prevent these frauds. Special agents and revenue cutters are 
employed to detect violations of the law. 

Tariff Laws. — A tariff is the list of the rates of duties 
fixed by law. An importer of foreign goods must consider 


SOME IMPORTANT POWERS OF CONGRESS. 85 


the amount of the duties he has paid as part of the cost of 
the goods when he sells them. If a higher price is caused 
in this way, this may deter importation and encourage the 
production of such articles in this country. Consequently, 
high rates of duties may have a decided influence upon the 
industries of a country. When the rates of duties are so 
adjusted as to bring about this result, we have a protective 
tariff; i.e. one under which persons can produce in this 
country certain articles which otherwise they could not 
produce, because of their cheapness when imported from 
a foreign country. The duties are made so high that it is 
not profitable to import the articles. When rates of duties 
are fixed primarily with the object of raising revenue, and 
without regard to their effect upon the industries of the 
country, we have a tariff for revenue. This kind of tariff 
is generally meant when the term free trade is used 
Articles on which no duties are imposed are said to be 
on the free list. There is no country which fails to collect 
duties on some of its importations. 

Reciprocity Agreements. — The United States has entered into 
reciprocity treaties with various countries for securing the reduction of 
tariff rates. Each country agrees to admit certain products of the 
other country at reduced rates, or free of duty. These are generally 
commodities in the production of which there is little or no competi¬ 
tion between the parties to the treaty. 

Internal Revenue Taxes. — Excises are taxes laid upon 
the manufacture and sale of certain products within the 
country. At the present time these internal revenue taxes 
are levied by the National government upon liquors, 1 to- 

1 Taxes are levied, not only upon the liquors themselves, but upon the 
business of brewing and rectifying ; of selling by wholesale and by retail ; of 


86 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


bacco, snuff, opium, oleomargarine, filled cheese, mixed 
flour, and playing cards. The greater number of these 
taxes are paid by the purchase of stamps, which must be 
affixed, in the proper denominations, to the articles taxed. 
When the packages are broken, the stamps must be de¬ 
stroyed so that they cannot be used again. 

War Taxes. — Because taxes of this kind are so easily collected, the 
government has extended them to a great number of articles when it 
suddenly needed a large revenue, as in the War of 1812, the Civil War, 
and the Spanish War of 1898. The law of 1898 increased the taxes on 
liquors and tobacco, and imposed new taxes on (1) proprietary articles, 
and (2) documents. Under the first heading fall patent medicines and 
compounds of various kinds. Documentary taxes 1 were imposed upon 
legal papers, such as deeds, mortgages, etc., and also upon bank checks 
and drafts, telegraph and telephone messages, and express receipts. 
Under this law the internal revenue receipts rose from $170,000,000 in 
1898, to $273,000,000 in 1899. Congress has repealed these special 
war taxes. 

The law of 1898 also levied taxes on bankers and brokers; and it 
included a legacy tax, which is still in force. Inheritances above 
$ 10,000 are taxed at various rates, which differ with the degrees of re¬ 
lationship that may exist between the one who bequeaths the property 
and the persons inheriting it. 

Rules for Levying Taxes.—The Constitution contains 
two rules by which Congress must be guided in the levy¬ 
ing of taxes. We have seen, Article I, Section 8, Clause 1, 
that duties , imposts , and excises , must be uniform through¬ 
out the United States; that is, the same rates , must pre¬ 
vail everywhere. Another provision, Article I, Section 2, 
Clause 3, is that representatives and direct taxes shall be 

manufacturing stills ; and upon the stills themselves. A list of these taxes 
may be obtained from the collector of any internal revenue district. 

1 These were exactly like those imposed by Parliament in the Stamp Act 
of 1765. 


SOME IMPORTANT POWERS OF CONGRESS. 87 

apportioned among the several States . . . according to 
their respective numbers} 


We have, therefore, the following classification : — 

I. Direct persons, 2 Must be apportioned among 
taxes, lands, the States according to popu- 

levied on incomes. lation. 


II. Indirect duties, 
taxes imposts, 
excises. 


Must be uniform throughout 
the United States. 


So far, we have discussed the indirect taxes only, for at 
present the United States levies no direct taxes. In our 
previous history, however, the government has imposed 
all the kinds of taxes mentioned in the outline above. In 
levying a direct tax, Congress must determine the total 
amount to be raised (as $2,000,000 in 1798, and $20,000,000 
in 1861), and then apportion this amount among the 
States, according to their population. It is evident that, 
if this kind of tax is imposed upon property or incomes, 
the rate will not be uniform throughout the United States. 

The bills introduced into Congress which provide for 
taxation are called “bills for raising revenue.” They 
must originate in the House of Representatives (Article I, 
Section 7, Clause 1). The Committee on Ways and Means 
frames these bills. In the Senate, such bills are referred 
to the Committee on Finance, and here the bills may be 
amended. 

1 See also Article I, Section 9, Clause 4 : No capitation , or other direct, tax 
shall be laid unless in proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore 
directed to be taken. 

2 These are poll taxes'. Such a tax was levied on slaves in 1798 and 1813. 






88 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


The Appropriation of Money. — Appropriation bills are 
those which provide for the expenditure of the govern¬ 
ment’s funds, and these bills are in charge of the com¬ 
mittee on appropriations in each house. 

Below is a list of the principal items in the revenues and 
appropriations for the year ending June 30, 1903. 


Revenues 


Duties. 

. $284,500,000 

Internal revenue. 

230,800,000 

Miscellaneous ..... 

45,096,000 

T otal. 

. $560,396,000 

Expenditures. 

War Department. 

. $118,600,000 

Navy Department ..... 

. 82,600,000 

Indian Bureau ..... 

12,900,000 

Pensions. 

138,400,000 

Interest on public debt .... 

28,500.000 

Civil list and miscellaneous 

125.000.000 

Total. 

. $506,000,000 


The Power to borrow Money. — We have now seen how 
money is provided for the government under ordinary cir¬ 
cumstances. In extraordinary cases this revenue is not 
sufficient; accordingly, Congress has been given power by 
Article I, Section 8, Clause 2, To borrow mojiey 071 the C 7 'edit 
of the XJ 7 iited States. 

Money is borrowed in most cases by the sale of bonds. 
These are of the same nature as the promissory notes by 
which individuals obtain loans. National bonds state the 
promise of the United States to pay a certain amount, at a 
stated time, with interest. A “ registered ” bond contains 
the name of the owner, and this is a matter of record at the 









SOME IMPORTANT POWERS OF CONGRESS. 89 

treasury department. When this bond is transferred, 
the record must be changed. “ Coupon ” bonds are usually 
payable to bearer; they have attached to them a number of 
coupons equal to the number of interest payments due 
during the term of the bond. 

Bonds are bought and sold on the market, and their prices are quoted 
in the daily papers. When the bonds fall due, they are redee?ned by 
the government at their face value, or “ at par.” On the market all 
United States bonds are now selling “at a premium.” Issues of bonds 
were made in 1898, the rate of interest being 3 per cent, and in 1900, 
the rate being 2 per cent. The Public Debt Statement issued monthly 
by the treasury department gives the divisions of the bonded debt 
and the amount outstanding. On May 31, 1904, the amount of the 
interest-bearing debt was $895,157,430. 

II. The Power of Congress over Commerce. 

The Control of Commerce. — The power over commerce, 
which we are next to discuss, was given to Congress be¬ 
cause the history of the country under the Articles of Con¬ 
federation demonstrated conclusively the fact that State 
control of commerce was entirely inadequate. Through 
Congressional control we secure that uniformity which is 
essential to security and prosperity in commercial matters. 
Not all commerce that is carried on by the citizens of this 
country is subject to control by Congress. The Constitu¬ 
tion gives it the power, in Article I, Section 8, Clause 3, 
To regulate commerce zvith foreign nations, and among the 
several States , and with the Indian tribes. 

There is a vast amount of commerce that is carried on 
entirely within the limits of the different States. Over this 
commerce Congress has no power; it is regulated by State 
laws relating to trade and transportation. 


90 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


Interstate Commerce. — The distinction between State 
and interstate commerce is not readily seen in many cases; 
but in general it may be said that if a commodity starts in 
one State destined for another, its control throughout its 
course lies within the power of Congress. This principle 
applies to both land and water transportation. So the 
coast trade among the States lies within the jurisdiction of 
Congress; also, commerce upon those rivers that form 
highways between different States. The harbors and 
waterways of the United States have been improved by 
the expenditure of many millions of dollars. This money 
has been appropriated in the “ River and Harbor Bills ” 
that are passed by almost every Congress. 

The Interstate Commerce Law. — The importance of rail¬ 
road transportation led to the enactment, in 1887, of the 
“ Interstate Commerce Law,” controlling this form of com¬ 
merce. The law became necessary because of certain 
abuses which had arisen. In many instances, the rail¬ 
roads gave lower freight rates to certain persons than to 
others doing the same kind of business; again, the mer¬ 
chants or manufacturers of certain cities were favored by 
more liberal rates than could be obtained by those who 
were engaged in the same industries in other cities. As a 
result, the business of many persons and places suffered 
injury, while the business of their rivals prospered through 
the advantages given to them by the railroads. In conse¬ 
quence, the Interstate Commerce Law provided that all 
rates should be “just and reasonable.” It was made un¬ 
lawful to discriminate by giving to any particular person, 
corporation, or locality an unreasonable advantage over 


SOME IMPORTANT POWERS OF CONGRESS. 91 

others. 1 All rates for interstate commerce must be made 
public under this law. Finally, the Interstate Commerce 
Commission was created to supervise the administration of 
the law. 

The Interstate Commerce Commission. — Complaints con¬ 
cerning the violation of the Interstate Commerce Law are 
made to this Commission, which consists of five members 
appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. 
The Commission cannot inflict penalties upon persons who 
are found by their investigations to have violated the law; 
this can be done only after the offender has been tried and 
found guilty in a court. Consequently, although some 
abuses have been corrected, the railroads still engage in 
other practices that are prohibited, and additional power 
must be given to the Interstate Commerce Commission 
before it can prevent the violation of the law. 

The Control of Trusts. — Among the abuses arising in 
connection with interstate commerce are those which re¬ 
sult when persons enter into agreements or combinations to 
prevent free competition; for under these circumstances 
prices are raised, or certain persons are favored in trade. 
In 1890, Congress passed a law prohibiting such combina¬ 
tions “ in restraint of trade or commerce among the several 
States or with foreign nations.” This is known as the 
Sherman Anti-trust Law. Now, a trust is simply a large 
corporation which has absorbed or killed off, more or less 
completely, other establishments engaged in the same in¬ 
dustry. The trust may or may not have a monopoly, that 

1 The 57th Congress passed in 1903 a law providing penalties for the grant¬ 
ing and the acceptance of “rebates.” 


92 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


is, complete control in that line of business; and it may or 
may not be engaged in interstate commerce. An agree¬ 
ment among certain railroad companies to establish and 
maintain freight rates was declared to be in violation of the 
law of 1890. Also, a combination, or “ conspiracy,” among 
railroad employees to stop the running of trains was de¬ 
clared illegal. 1 

The “ trust problem,” which is so prominent in current political dis¬ 
cussion, is the question of preventing the evils of combination in 
industry. These evils become evident when excessive prices are 
charged by persons who control certain lines of business; that is, when 
free competition is prevented in the production, transportation, or sale 
of commodities. If the business conducted by a trust lies entirely 
within the limits of a single State’s boundaries, then it must be regu¬ 
lated by State law. How far Congress may go in its regulation of 
trusts under the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution, quoted 
above, is an unsettled problem. Some authorities hold that the power 
of Congress is sufficient to meet all cases; while others believe that the 
Constitution must be amended before Congress can pass laws which will 
prevent the evils of combination in industry. 2 


III. The Money of the United States. 

Our National Currency. — Another of the most important 
powers of Congress is that granted in the following 
clause: — 

Article I, Section 8, Clause 5. To com money , regulate 
the value thereof \ and of foreign coin , and fix the standard 
of weights and measures . 

In civilized countries it is the practice of the govern¬ 
ment to furnish to the people a “ circulating medium ” for 

1 Other cases are cited in “ Government in State and Nation,” p. 203. 
t u The Commissioner of Corporations in the Department of Commerce and 
Labor, which was created in 1903, has authority to investigate the manner 
in which corporations conduct their interstate business. 


SOME IMPORTANT POWERS OF CONGRESS. 


use in trade and commerce. Two kinds of money are in 
use in the United States : (i) coin, or specie; and (2) paper 
money. The total amount of money in circulation in the 
United States on October 1, 1903, was $2,404,617,000, 
or $29.75 per capita for the whole population. Of this 
amount, two-thirds, roughly speaking, was paper money of 
the various kinds, and one-third was metal money. 1 We 
shall first consider the coins of the nation. 

How Coins are Made. — The coinage of money takes 
place at the mints, which are located at Philadelphia, 
Denver, New Orleans, and San Francisco. Gold and 
silver come to the mints in the form of bricks, or rough 
bars, to which the term bullion is applied. Alloy must be 
added to the pure metal for the purpose of rendering it of 
sufficient hardness to withstand wear. In our gold and 
silver coins one-tenth of the weight is an alloy composed 
of copper and nickel. A quantity of the bullion of the 
required purity is first melted and then cast into ingots, 
or long bars. Each bar is next run between heavy rollers 
until it takes the form of a thin strip. From the strip are 
punched round pieces, called “blanks,” of the size and 
thickness of the coin that is being made. In the next 
process the blank is weighed on a delicate balance; when 
found to be of the correct weight, the coin is placed in a 
powerful press, and from this it comes with its edge raised 
above the face and its edge milled. In a similar press the 
designs are stamped upon the faces of the coin. 

l Annual Report, Secretary of the Treasury, 1903, pp. 129-132. In ad¬ 
dition to this amount in circulation the United States Treasury contained 
$316,000,000, of which $260,000,000 was gold. 


94 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


Below is a list of the coins now being minted. 

Gold Coins. 1 

Double eagle Half-eagle 

Eagle Quarter-eagle 

Silver Coins. 

Standard dollar Quarter dollar 

Half dollar Dime 

Minor Coins. 

Five-cent (nickel) One cent (bronze) 

The silver coins less in value than one dollar are called subsidiary 
coins. 

The Ratio of Gold and Silver Coins.— The law fixes the weight of 
pure metal in a silver dollar at 371.25 grains, troy weight, and that of 
the pure metal in a gold dollar at 23.22 grains. The ratio of these 
weights is 15.988+ : 1, or nearly 16:1. This indicates the origin of 
the famous expression, “ sixteen to one.” 

Free Coinage. — By free coinage is meant a policy established by law, 
under which any person may bring bullion to the mint in any amount 
and have it coined; that is, the amount which the government will coin 
is unlimited by law. Our country has always had the policy of free 
coinage with respect to gold. This was also the policy in the coinage 
of our silver dollars until 1873. At that time the coinage of the silver 
dollar was discontinued until a law was passed in 1878 (the Bland Act) 
renewing its coinage, but in limited quantities. The government 
purchased silver bullion under this law, and under the Sherman Act 
(1890), but since 1893 no silver bullion has been purchased for the 
coinage of silver dollars, but the bullion already on hand has been 
used for this purpose. 


Paper Money. — We have in the United States five 

kinds of paper money in 

general circulation: — 

Kinds. 

Amounts outstanding Oct. I, 1903. 

i. United States notes . 

. $346,000,000 

2. Gold certificates 

. . . . 420,000,000 

3. Silver certificates 

464,000,000 

4. National bank notes . 

. . . . 420,000,000 

5. Treasury notes of 1890 

17,000,000 


1 No gold one-dollar pieces have been coined since 1890. 



SOME IMPORTANT POWERS OF CONGRESS. 


The History of United States Notes. — United States 
notes, or “ greenbacks,” as they are commonly called, 
originated during the Civil War. When the government 
was without specie with which to purchase supplies for 
the army and pay other expenses, it issued these notes. 
Each note says on its face, “The United States will pay 

to bearer $ -” Since no time was set for the fulfillment 

of this promise, and since there was neither gold nor 
silver in the treasury with which to redeem the notes, 
people would naturally hesitate to accept them in payment 
for goods or salaries. Consequently, Congress made the 
notes “ legal tender ” ; 1 that is, the law compelled cred¬ 
itors to receive this kind of money in payment for debts. 
The notes passed into circulation, therefore, because 
people were forced to take them ; but their value de¬ 
preciated greatly during the war. In 1879 the govern¬ 
ment began the redemption of the notes in specie, and 
since that time they have been worth their face value. 

Gold and Silver Certificates. — It is much more con¬ 
venient to handle paper money than coins. Consequently, 
provision is made for the gold certificates and silver cer¬ 
tificates which represent, respectively, gold coins and silver 
dollars stored in the United States treasury and ready for 
exchange for the certificates at any time. 

National Bank Notes. — The fourth kind of paper money 
is issued by national banks. These are organized under 
United States law and subject to control by an officer of 

1 Our full legal tender coins at present are the gold coins, silver dollars, 
United States notes and treasury notes of 1890. Subsidiary silver coins are 
legal tender in amounts not greater than $10.00, and the minor coins are legal 
tender to the amount of twenty-five cents. 


96 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


the Treasury Department. Like banks that are organized 
under State law, national banks conduct the ordinary 
banking operations. This part of their business is subject 
to failure, and the depositors are liable to loss, as in the 
case of other banks. But the holder of a National bank 
note may always be sure of the fulfillment of the promise 

printed on its face, that “The National Bank of- 

will pay the bearer $ _, on demand.” This is because 

the security for these notes consists of United States bonds. 
Every National bank owns an amount of these bonds equal 
to the amount of its notes in circulation ; the bonds are 
deposited with the government at Washington, and if the 
bank should fail, the bonds may be sold by the government 
and thus specie will be secured with which to redeem the 
notes. 

The amount of treasury notes of 1890 is comparatively 
small, and this kind of money is destined to disappear 
within a few years. 

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES. 

1. The tariff schedule in force at the present time may be found in 

newspaper almanacs. Is this tariff high, low, or moderate in 
its rates ? 

2. The Statistical Abstract, published by the Bureau of Statistics of 

the Treasury Department, gives the list of items upon which 
duties and internal revenue taxes are collected, and the amounts 
yielded by each for a series of years ; the expenditures of the 
government, with the chief items; a statement of the National 
debt; and statistics concerning the money of the United States. 

3. Why do liquors and tobaccos bear the heaviest excise taxes ? 

What reasons can you give for taxing the other articles men¬ 
tioned on p. 86 ? 

4. For a statement of the principal items of the public debt in 1901, 

see James and Sanford, Government in State and Nation, p. 193. 




SOME IMPORTANT POWERS OF CONGRESS. 97 


5. The evils of trusts and the remedies proposed are discussed in the 

following articles: Arena, 23:40-58, 617-626; 24:569-572; 25: 
264-270. Atl. Mo., 87:736-745; 89:332-339. Cent. Mag., 

60:143-149, 152-153. Forum, 28:412-426; 30:286-293. N. Am. 
Rev., 174 : 778-784. Nation, 71 : 4-5. 

6. Because our coins contain one-tenth alloy, they are said to be nine- 

tenths fine. Calculate from the weights of pure metal, given on 
p. 94, the total weights of the gold and silver dollars. 

7. For information concerning the Act of Congress fixing a “ standard 

of weights and measures,” see Government in State and Nation, 
219. 

8. The depreciation of the United States notes, referred to on p. 95, 

is shown graphically in Government in State and Nation, 210. 


CHAPTER XI. 


OTHER GENERAL POWERS OF CONGRESS. 

I. Power of Naturalization. 

Who are Citizens.—Who are citizens of the United 
States is always a question of interest. We find it clearly 
answered in the first clause of the fourteenth amendment 
as follows : All persons born or naturalized in the United 
States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of 
the United States and of the States wherein they reside. 

Thus there are two classes of citizens: (i) those who 
are citizens by birth; (2) those who have been natural¬ 
ized. Children born in this country, though of foreign 
parentage, and residing here, may be considered American 
citizens if they choose. According to an Act of Congress, 
passed in 1882, Chinese aliens may not be naturalized; 
but our Supreme Court has decided that a child born in the 
United States, of Chinese parents, is a citizen, if he desires 
to be. Though born in a foreign country, a child whose 
father is an American citizen may claim the privilege of 
American citizenship. Indians who keep their tribal 
relations are not included under the provisions of this 
section. 

Naturalized Citizens. — The second class of citizens are 
those who are naturalized. That the rules should be uni- 


OTHER GENERAL POWERS OF CONGRESS. 


99 


form by which aliens become citizens, is self-evident. 
After q. brief discussion, the Constitutional Convention 
provided in Section 8, Clause 4, that Congress shall have 
• the power to establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and 
uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the 
United States. 

Process of Naturalization.—(1) The foreigner desiring 
to become a citizen goes before the clerk of any court of 
record and declares, “ upon oath,” that it is his intention 
to become a citizen of the United States, and to renounce 
all allegiance to the government which has jurisdiction over 
him. He then receives his “first papers.” (2) After he 
has resided in the United States for five years, providing 
two years have elapsed since his “ declaration of intention,” 
he may secure his certificate of naturalization. He must 
appear in open court and swear that he will support the 
Constitution of the United States, and renounce all alle¬ 
giance to any foreign power. Two witnesses must testify 
to his term of residence, and declare that he is a man of 
good moral character. His wife, and those of his children 
who are under twenty-one years of age, become citizens at 
the same time. In certain cases, Congress has, by a single 
act, admitted large numbers of aliens to American citizen¬ 
ship, as it did at the time of the purchase of Louisiana, 
the annexation of Texas, and of Hawaii. 

Bankrupt Laws. — It sometimes happens, because of general depres¬ 
sion in trade throughout the country, on account of losses, or for other 
reasons, that business men become heavily involved in debt. They are 
said to be insolvent. Now it is but just that such property as they 
have should be divided in some equitable way among the creditors. 
A bankrupt law secures such a division, and the debtor is, at the same 

L.ofC. 


100 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


time, freed from all legal obligation to pay the debts which cannot be 
met in this way. The first law of Congress on this subject was passed 
in 1802, and repealed in 1803. Since that time there have been three 
other bankrupt laws, but the total time during which they have been in 
force amounts only to some twenty years. The last law, that of 1898, • 
is still in operation. 1 

Some States have also passed insolvency laws. How¬ 
ever, these must not in any way conflict with the provisions 
of the national bankrupt laws. 

II. The Postal System. 

Organization of the Post-office Department.—We can 

appreciate somewhat the advancement made in the postal 
service rendered by the government when we read that an 
Act of Congress in 1782 directed that mail should be carried 
“at least once in each week from one office to another.” 
Our well-organized postal system, declared recently by the 
Postmaster-General to be the “greatest business concern” 
in the world, 2 has been evolved through laws made in car¬ 
rying out the provision of the Constitution that Congress 
shall have power to establish post-offices and post-roads. 

As is well known, the Postmaster-General, a member of 
the President’s Cabinet, is at the head of this Department 
of government. Among his duties, that of overseeing the 
appointment of some 70,000 postmasters is by no means 
the least. 3 These are the so-called fourth-class post- 

1 See “ Government in State and Nation,” pp. 224, 225, for a further discus* 
sion of bankrupt laws — especially that of 1898. 

2 Jhe total receipts of the Post-office Department for 1902 were $121,840,- 
047. 

3 The appointments are actually made by the Fourth Assistant Postmaster- 
General. 


OTHER GENERAL POWERS OF CONGRESS. ioi 


masters. The other three classes, in which are included 
those postmasters whose salaries are not less than $1000, 
are appointed by the President, with the consent of the 
Senate. 

Classes of Mail. — Mail matter belongs to one of four classes. In 
general, the classes and rates are as follows: First class — letters, two 
cents an ounce; second class — newspapers and periodicals, one cent 
a pound; third class — books, one cent for two'ounces; and fourth 
class — merchandise, limited to four-pound packages, one cent an ounce. 

Free Delivery. — Among the notable advances in the 
mail service was the provision for the free distribution of 
mail in the cities of 10,000 inhabitants, or where the annual 
postal receipts are $10,000 and above. 

Rural Free Delivery. — No innovation in postal methods 
has been more successful than the free delivery of mails 
in the country districts. The development of the system, 
since its establishment in 1897, has been remarkable. 1 

Among the good effects resulting from its extensive 
introduction may be mentioned the following: (1) Cor¬ 
respondence in the communities affected has increased. 
(2) The circulation of the daily newspaper and of periodi¬ 
cal literature has been greatly enlarged, and interest has 
grown in public affairs. (3) Good roads have been multi¬ 
plied, for they are made one of the conditions for the intro¬ 
duction of the service. (4) Because the country districts 
are brought into daily communication with the centres of 
population, the tendency to quit the farm for the town 

1 According to the report of the superintendent for the year ending June 30, 
1902, 8413 routes had been established. Congress granted an additional 
sum of nearly $5,000,000 to extend this service during the year 1903. Presi¬ 
dent Roosevelt, in his annual message for 1902, pronounces the system an 
unqualified success, and urges its further extension. 


102 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


has been lessened and thus rural free delivery is helping, 
in some degree, to solve one of the problems of our 
social and industrial life. 

Money Orders. — Another great convenience in this de¬ 
partment is the “ money order ” office, through which 
money may be transferred quickly and safely. The office 
is also made a bank of deposit by many persons, who 
secure money orders payable to themselves. 

Postal Savings-banks.—At various times bills have been before 
Congress providing for the establishment of postal savings-banks in 
connection with post-offices. It is proposed that they shall receive 
small amounts on deposit, paying a low rate of interest, and that the 
funds secured be invested in government bonds. A strong argument 
in favor of their establishment is, that they have met with much favor 
in many of the European countries. 

Some of the Defects in our Postal System. — (i) One of the great 
abuses in the postal system arises through the delivery of second-class 
matter. There can be little doubt but that private interests are often aided 
by a perversion of the law defining periodical publications. That this 
is an unjust drain upon the public funds is clear, when we consider that, 
in a recent year, the government expended $17,277,783 more than it 
received for carrying second-class mail. (2) Another serious defect 
has existed, in the payment of exorbitant rates to railroad companies 
for carrying the mails. (3) Some Congressmen abuse the privilege 
granted them of sending government publications free. (4) The pos¬ 
tal system has offered one of the best fields for the manipulation of 
the spoilsman. Postmasters have been usually appointed on the recom¬ 
mendation of representatives, and, too frequently, the one essential 
to securing an office is that the successful applicant must be influential 
in politics. 1 

1 “ The policy now is to consider all fourth-class postmasters as appointed 
for an indefinite period, and subject to removal for cause only.” — Report of 
Civil Service Commission , 1901-1902, p. 20. 


OTHER GENERAL POWERS OF CONGRESS. 


103 


III. Copyrights and Patents. 

Copyrights and Patents. — Section 8, Clause 8. To pro¬ 
mote the progress of science and useful arts , by securing , for 
limited times , to authors and inventors , the exclusive right 
to their respective writings and discoveries. 

The development of American literature has been 
greatly aided through the operation of laws based on this 
clause. Copyrights are secured from the Librarian of Con¬ 
gress. Any person obtaining a copyright has the sole 
right to print, copy, or sell the book, chart, engraving, 
music, etc., for a period of twenty-eight years. A copy¬ 
right may be renewed for fourteen years longer. It may 
be sold or transferred, providing a record of the transfer 
be made in the office of the Librarian of Congress, within 
sixty days. 

Patents. — Americans have been rightly named the 
great inventors of the world. Not a little of our marvel¬ 
ous industrial progress has been due to this inventive 
ability. The government has contributed to the same 
end, through the enactment of laws protecting those in¬ 
ventors who secure patents. A person desiring a patent 
must declare upon oath, in his petition addressed to the 
Commissioner of Patents, that he believes himself to be 
the first inventor of the article for which he solicits a 
patent. The sum of fifteen dollars is charged for filing 
the application, and twenty dollars for issuing the patent. 
A patent is granted for seventeen years, but may be ex¬ 
tended for seven years more. During this period, the 


104 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


patentee has the exclusive right to manufacture, sell, or 
transfer his invention. 1 

IV. Military Powers of Congress. 

Section 8, Clauses n, 12, 13, 14. To declaim war , grant 
letters of marque and reprisal , and make rules concerning 
captures on land and water. 

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of 
money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years. 

To provide and maintaui a navy. 

To make rules for the government and regulation of the 
land and naval forces. 

The Army. — Americans are always impressed by the 
military spirit so prevalent in European nations. Com¬ 
pared with the standing army of Germany, which has 
some 700,000 men, and with that of Russia, containing 
1,000,000 men, or with that of most European nations, 
our army is insignificant in size. According to a law 
of 1901, the army of the United States cannot contain 
more than 102,258 men. 2 

Fortunately, there has always existed in the United 
States the desire to keep the standing army from becom¬ 
ing unduly large. The Constitution itself indicates that 
appropriations for the army shall not be for a longer 
time than two years. At the end of this period, the 

1 The total number of applications filed for patents, in 1902, was 50,000. 
This was the largest number ever applied for in a single year. 

2 The annual report of the Secretary of War, for 1902, shows that the num¬ 
ber of enlisted troops in our army numbered 59,866, which is the minimum 
number provided for by the act mentioned. 


OTHER GENERAL POWERS OF CONGRESS. 105 


people may check the growth of the army through the 
election of representatives opposed thereto. 

Officers and Classification of the Army. — The President is, ex- 
officio, commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States. 
The office of general was created, by Congress, March 3, 1799, bat was 
not filled. It was revived in 1866 for General Grant, General Sherman 
succeeding to the title in 1869. The same rank was bestowed on 
General Sheridan in 1888. The lieutenant-general is next in rank 
to the general. The army is distributed geographically as follows: 
Division of the Philippines and the Departments of California, of the 
Colorado, of the Columbia, of Dakota, of the East, of the Lakes, of the 
Missouri, and of Texas. The Division is in charge of a major-general, 
and the Departments are each in charge of a major-general or of a 
brigadier-general. The commands which correspond to each grade 
are: major-general, four regiments; brigadier-general, two regiments; 
colonel, one regiment; lieutenant-colonel or major, a battalion or 
squadron; captain, a company. As now organized, infantry regiments 
consist of 12 companies, of 65 men each. Cavalry regiments contain 
12 troops, each having 65 enlisted men. 

The Navy. —We are told by competent authorities that 
one of our best means of preserving peace with foreign 
powers is to maintain a strong navy. This has become 
much more necessary since the United States has begun 
to acquire insular possessions. Although the construction 
of the modern American navy was not begun until 1883, 
since that time progress has been so marked that it is now 
estimated our navy ranks fourth among the navies of the 
world. The order is Great Britain, France, Russia, the 
United States. In the year 1899 Congress appropriated 
$36,000,000 for the construction of twelve new ships of 
war. 1 

1 According to the report of the Secretary of the Navy, for 1902, the fight¬ 
ing strength of the American navy, counting ships launched, under construction, 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


106 

Names of Vessels. — A ship of the first class is given the name of a 
State; one of the second class that of a principal city or river, and the 
names for ships of the third class are selected by the President. The 
navy now contains 312 vessels. 

Officers in the Navy. — The titles admiral and vice-admiral, corre¬ 
sponding to the grades of general and lieutenant-general in the army, 
were created by act of Congress to be bestowed on the following men 
as recognition for distinguished services during the Civil War: Admirals 
Farragut and Porter; and Vice-Admirals Farragut, Porter and Rowan. 
Admiral Dewey was granted his title by a special Act of Congress after 
the battle of Manila. The officers of the navy ranking with major- 
generals, brigadier-generals, colonels, and so on, in the army, are rear- 
admirals, commodores, captains, commanders, lieutenant-commanders, 
lieutenants, masters, ensigns. 

The Militia. — With but little opposition in the Constitu¬ 
tional Convention, Congress was given the power to make 
provision for citizen-soldiers as follows : — 

Section 8, Clause 15. To provide for calling forth the 
militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrec¬ 
tions and repel invasions. 

Clause 1 6 . To provide for organizing, arming and dis¬ 
ciplining the militia , and for governing such part of them as 
may be employed in the service of the United States , reserv¬ 
ing to the States respectively the appointment of the officers , 
and the authority of training the militia according to the 
discipline prescribed by Congress. 

Number of the Militia. — All able-bodied male citizens 
of the United States and males between eighteen and 
forty-five years of age who have declared their intention to 
become citizens are regarded as the militia force of the 
country. As a matter of fact, there are at present only 

and authorized by acts of Congress, has increased to four times what it was at 
the beginning of the war with Spain. 


OTHER GENERAL POWERS OF CONGRESS. 107 


about 100,000 men enrolled in this service. But in the 
case of an emergency the President may compel the gov¬ 
ernors of the various States to furnish the troops needed. 
The militia may thus be called into service, under their 
own State officers, for a period of nine months. The War 
of 1812 and the Civil War furnish the best illustrations of 
the enforcement of this provision. 

Volunteers of 1898. — We should note here the manner in which 
men were secured for the war against Spain. We see, according to 
Clause 15, that the militia may be called out only for the purposes of 
executing the laws of the Union, suppressing insurrections, and repelling 
invasions. Now, in the case given, the war was to be conducted in 
foreign territory, and President McKinley called for 200,000 volunteers. 
It was understood, however, that preference would be given to those 
volunteers who were already members of the organized militia. 

V. Location of the Capital. 

Section 8, Clause 17. Congress shall have the power to 
exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over 
such district (not exceeding ten miles square') as may, by ces¬ 
sion of particular States and the acceptance of Congress, 
become the seat of the government of the United States, and 
to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the 
consent of the legislature of the State in which the same 
shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock¬ 
yards, and other needful buildings. 

One of the most interesting contests in American history 
arose in the selection of a site for the capital city. Con¬ 
gress finally accepted, for this purpose, one hundred square 
miles of land on the Potomac River, which was ceded by 
Maryland and Virginia. The thirty square miles given 


io8 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


by Virginia were afterward returned to that State. The 
capital was to be in New York until 1790, then in Phila¬ 
delphia until 1800. In 1800 it was transferred to the new 
district, called the District of Columbia. 1 

VI. Implied Powers. 

Strict and Loose Construction. — Our national develop¬ 
ment has been, in large measure, dependent on the inter¬ 
pretation of the next clause of the Constitution. It is often 
called the elastic clause. 

Section 8, Clause 18. To make all laws which shall be 
necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing 
powers and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the 
government of the United States or in any department or 
officer thereof. 

Briefly stated, the problem has always been, Has Con¬ 
gress the right to exercise powers not definitely granted by 
the Constitution ? Alexander Hamilton first set forth the 
doctrine of implied powers. He urged that Congress 
might, in carrying out specific powers, use methods not 
expressly provided for in the Constitution, as in the creation 
of a bank or a mint. Since the time of this interpretation, 
which, fortunately for American interests, was sanctioned 
by Washington and later by the Supreme Court through 
its great Chief Justice John Marshall, the advocates of the 
doctrines of strict and loose construction have contended 
for their principles. Does the Constitution permit the ac¬ 
quisition of territory ? May Congress establish a protec¬ 
tive tariff, or a system of internal improvements ? We 

1 For the government of this district, see “ Government in State and Nation,” 

p. 239. 


OTHER GENERAL POWERS OF CONGRESS. 109 


have here but three of the great questions which have led 
to a definition of these opposing views. Speaking in 
general terms, the party in power has favored loose con¬ 
struction, while the party out of power has advocated 
strict construction. Said Mr. Bryce, “ The Americans 
have more than once bent their Constitution in order that 
they might not be forced to break it.” 1 

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES. 

1. What are star routes? James and Sanford, Government in State 

and Nation, 229. 

2. Should postal savings-banks be established? N. Am. Rev., 172: 

551 - 554 - 

3. Should there be a system of postal telegraphy? Cent. Mag., 

59 : 952-956; N. Am. Rev., 172: 554~556. 

4. Extent and advantages of Rural Free Delivery, Rev. of R's, 27 : 55- 

Go. 

5. Perils of the Postal Service, N. Am. Rev., 172: 420-430, 551-559. 

6. Defects in the Postal System, N. Am. Rev., 174 : 807-819 ; 175 : 115- 

127. 

7. Privateers and privateering, Government in State and Nation, 

204; Walker, The Making of the Nation, 231, 232. 

8. For the methods employed in the patent office and a comparison 

between our system and that of European nations, see Cent. 
Mag., 61 : 346-356. 

9. A good account of the reorganization of the army of the United 

States is given in the Atl. Mo., 89:437-451. 

10. The Development of the United States Army, Scribner’s Mag., 

30:286-311, 446-462, 593-613- 

11. West Point after a Century, World’s Work, August, 1902, 

2433 - 245 I- 

12. A Hundred Years of West Point, Outlook, 71: 591-601. 

13. Life at West Point, Rev. of R’s, 26: 45 “ 53 - 

14. What was the character of our navy prior to 1883? Harrison, 

This Country of Ours, 251-255. 

1 Bryce, “ American Commonwealth,” I, 390. 


IIO 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


15. The New American Navy, Outlook, 73 : 323-337. 

16. Comparison of the strength of our navy with that of other nations, 

Rev. of R’s, 25 : 561-570. 

17. What special problem was connected with the location of the 

capital? How was it finally settled? Hart, Contemporaries, 
III, 269-272; Schouler, I, 152-156; McMaster, I, 555-562; 
World’s Work, 1: 191-195. 

18. The development of Washington during the past one hundred 

years is discussed in Rev. of R’s, 22: 675-686 ; Forum, 30:545- 
554; Outlook, 70:310, 311, 817-829; Cent. Mag., 63:621-628, 
724-756; Cosmop., 30: 109-120. 

19. Proposed Improvements in Washington, Cent. Mag., 63:621- 

628, 747-759. 

20. For the influence of the doctrine of implied powers, see : — 

(a) Internal Improvements, Hart, Contemporaries, III, 436-440; 

Walker, The Making of the Nation, 204, 205, 262, 363 ; 
Hart, Formation of the Union, 227-229, 353-355. 

( b ) The United States Bank, Hart, Contemporaries, III, 446- 

450; Hart, Formation of the Union, 150-151, 226-227» 
Walker, The Making of the Nation, 82-83. 

(V) The annexation of territory, Hart, Contemporaries, III, 373- 
376 ; Walker, The Making of the Nation, 177-184 ; Hart, 
The Formation of the Union, 188. 

(d) Legal tender cases, Wilson, Division and Reunion, 280-281. 


CHAPTER XII. 


POWERS DENIED THE UNITED STATES AND THE 
SEVERAL STATES. 

While restrictions on Congressional powers are found 
elsewhere in the Constitution, Section 9 of Article I seems 
to have been framed especially for this purpose. 1 

Writ of Habeas Corpus. — Clause 2 provides : The privi¬ 
lege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended , 
unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion , the public 
safety may require it . 

A writ of habeas corpus is a writ granted by a court, 
commanding an officer to produce before it a prisoner, in 
order that the court may inquire into the cause of his 
imprisonment or detention. If, after such inquiry, it is 
found that the person is detained for insufficient cause, he 
is granted his freedom. 

President Lincoln and the Writ of Habeas Corpus. — President 
Lincoln, as a military necessity, in 1861, suspended the privilege of the 
writ over a limited area, constituting a large part of the State of Mary¬ 
land. The Supreme Court, however, declared his order non-effective, 
maintaining that the right of suspending the writ of habeas corpus lay 
with Congress, though it might be granted to the President. This 
attempt on the part of the Supreme Court to restrain Mr. Lincoln was 
a failure, and shows that even the highest of our tribunals may not have 

1 Clause I of this Article formed an important part of the third great com¬ 
promise which was discussed on p. 43. 


hi 


112 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


its usual power in time of war. It was not until March 3, 1863, that 
Congress made the decree of President Lincoln legal by authorizing him 
to suspend the writ whenever he believed the public safety demanded 
it. In September of that year he declared the suspension general 
throughout the country. 

Ex Post Facto Laws. — Clause 3. No bill of attainder 
or ex post facto laws shall be passed. 

An ex post facto law, as defined by the Supreme Court, 
is a “ law which renders an act punishable in a manner 
in which it was not punishable when it was committed.” 
It applies to acts of a criminal nature only. 1 

Care of Public Money. — Clause 7. No money shall be 
drawn from the treasury , but in consequence of appropria¬ 
tions made by law ; and a regidar statement and account of 
the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be 
published from time to time. 

It is proper in a government such as ours that the 
control of the public money should be lodged with the 
representatives of the people. Through the annual report 
of the Secretary of the Treasury, the people may know 
from what sources our revenues are derived and for what 
purposes the money is expended. 

Titles of Nobility and Gifts. — Clause 8. No title of 
nobility shall be granted by the United States; and no 
person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall , 
without the consent of the Congress , accept of any present, 
emolument , office , or title of any kind whatever from any 
king , prince , or foreign state. 

According to the wording of the clause, Congress may 


1 Clause 4 is discussed under National Finances, p. 87. 


POWERS DENIED THE STATES. 


1 13 

allow gifts, of the kind mentioned, to be accepted by our 
National officials: Usually, however, such gifts pass into 
the keeping of government. 

Powers denied the States. — We recall the power of the 
States and weakness of the general government under the 
Articles of Confederation. It was plain to the members 
of the Constitutional Convention that hopeless confusion 
would arise if the States should also be given the right 
to coin money, pass ex post facto laws, etc. Therefore, 
certain prohibitions were made on the powers of the States. 
In Section 10, Clause 1, we note that these prohibitions are 
absolute, as: — 

No State shall enter into any treaty , alliance or confed- 
eratioii; grant letters of marque arid, reprisal , coin money , 
emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin 
a tender in payment of debts ; pass any bill of attainder , 
ex post facto law , or law impairing the obligation of con¬ 
tracts , or grant any title of nobility} 

In Section 10, Clauses 2 and 3, the prohibitions are only 
conditional; thus : — 

No State shall , without the consent of the Congress, lay 
any impost or duties on imports or exports except what 
may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection 
laws; and the net produce of all duties and imposts laid by 
any State on imports or exports , shall be for the use of the 
treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be 
subject to the revision and control of the Congress. 

1 In the celebrated Dartmouth College case, it was finally determined that a 
State legislature may not modify the terms of a contract. See Life of John 
Marshall, by Magruder, “American Statesmen,” new ed., 18S-190. 


1 


114 THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 

No State shall , without the conse7it of Congress , lay any 
duty of tonnage , keep troops or ships of war in time of 
peace , enter into any agreement or compact with another 
State or with a foreign power , or engage in war , unless 
actually invaded or in such imminent danger as will not 
admit of delay. 

More Complete Protection of Personal Rights. — By a 

careful reading of Sections 9 and 10, it is seen that some 
of the rights of the individual are guarded against encroach¬ 
ment on the part of government, either National or State. 
But the people felt that there were other personal rights 
which needed protection. They were familiar with the 
Bills of Rights in their own State constitutions. That 
the National Constitution did not also contain a Bill of 
Rights was, as we have seen, one of the chief arguments 
made against its adoption in the State conventions. 1 

The First Ten Amendments. —A large number of prop¬ 
ositions, therefore, were submitted to the first Congress 
by the States. Seventeen of these were selected by the 
House of Representatives, and proposed as amendments 
to the Constitution. Twelve of these were acceptable to 
the Senate also, and ten were ratified by the required three- 
fourths of the State Legislatures. We call them the first 
ten amendments to the Constitution. If we read these 
amendments, we shall find that really they are a Bill of 
Rights, for the preservation or protection of rights of the 
people is expressed in all. 2 


1 See p. 45. 


2 See Appendix A. 


CHAPTER XIII. 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

The President and his Election. — We have seen that 
the one great weakness of the government under the Con¬ 
federation was that there existed no adequate executive. 
After much discussion in the Convention, the fear of a 
despot at the head of affairs gave place to the desire to 
secure executive energy and responsibility. To-day, the 
President is the most notable personage among all our 
officials. Mr. Bryce calls the Presidential office the great¬ 
est office in the world unless we except the papacy. In 
the Executive Department, the President’s power is prac¬ 
tically absolute. He may appoint and remove, either 
directly or indirectly, all officials of the department, and 
they are finally responsible to him in the performance of 
their duties. His control of international relations and 
his influence on legislation are, as we shall see, extensive. 

Length of Term.— Article II, Section i, Clause i. The 

executive power shall be vested in a President of the United 
States of America. He shall hold his office during the term 
of four years , and , together with the Vice-President , chosen 
for the same term , be elected as follows: — 

Method of Election. — How shall the President be 
chosen ? This problem is said to have taken one-seventh 

115 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


II6 

of the entire time of the Convention. While there were 
those who believed that election by the people would be 
wise, still this sentiment was not general. It was thought 
that a choice in this way would cause great “ tumult and 
disorder.” Besides, it was urged that the people would 
not be sufficiently acquainted with the men who have the 
necessary qualifications for such high office. For a special 
investigation of this sort, they agreed that it would be best 
to select a small number of persons who would be most 
likely to possess the required information and discernment. 
The appointment of these independent electors was pro¬ 
vided for as follows : — 

Appointment of Electors. — Section i, Clause 2. Each 
State shall appoint , in such manner as the legislature thereof 
may direct, a number of electors equal to the whole number 
of senators and representatives to which the State may be 
e7ititled in the Congress; but no senator or representative 
or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United 
States, shall be appomted an elector. 

Article II, Section 1, Clause 3. The Congress may 
determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on 
which they shall give their votes, which day shall be the 
same throughout the United States. 

At present, the appointment of electors is a necessary 
but a comparatively unimportant step in the election of a 
President. 

The real power exists in the National conventions of the 
great political parties. Instead of exercising the right of 
free choice, as they were originally expected to do, the 
electors are really bound to vote for candidates nominated 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 


II 7 

in these conventions. Let us consider, then, some of 
the chief points in the history and practical working of 
National conventions. 

Early Methods of Nominating. — Like the development of other 
political usages, the method of nominating a President passed through 
several stages before the present plan of nominating conventions was 
reached. No nominations were made in the first two Presidential elec¬ 
tions. In 1796, Washington having refused to be a candidate for a 
third term, party managers in Congress agreed informally on Adams 
and Jefferson as the candidates of the Federalist and the Republican 
parties respectively. A caucus of Federalist Congressmen, in 1800, 
nominated Adams and Pinckney, and a caucus of Republican Congress¬ 
men nominated Jefferson and Burr, for the offices of President and 
Vice-President. The Republican members of Congress continued to 
hold a regular caucus and thus to direct the votes of the party electors 
until 1824. In that year William H. Crawford, the last Congressional 
nominee, was defeated. There was opposition to the Congressional 
caucus from the beginning, for such a method was regarded as undemo¬ 
cratic. In 1824 and 1828 the several State Legislatures put forward 
their favorites for the office of President. 

Development of National Conventions.—As early as 1812, DeWitt 
Clinton was nominated as the candidate of the Federalists in a conven¬ 
tion held in New York City, made up of seventy delegates, who repre¬ 
sented eleven States. But the National nominating convention, as we 
know it, was used for the first time by the Anti-Masonic party, which 
selected William Wirt for its candidate in 1831. This method was 
followed in the same year by the National Republican party, which 
nominated Henry Clay. The National convention of the Democratic 
party in 1832 nominated Andrew Jackson, who had already been nomi¬ 
nated by many local conventions and State Legislatures. Many years 
elapsed before the present complex organization was reached, but since 
1836, with the single exception of the Whig party in that year, parties 
have regarded the National convention as an essential factor in electing 
President and Vice-President. 

Election of Delegates to the National Conventions. — The 
National conventions of the Republican and the Demo- 


118 THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 

cratic parties are made up of twice as many delegates from 
the different States as these States have representatives 
and senators in Congress. Delegates are chosen by con¬ 
ventions in the various States in April or May of the Presi¬ 
dential election year. According to the usual method, two 
delegates are selected for each of the Congressional dis¬ 
tricts by the district conventions of each party, and four 
delegates at large are chosen by the State conventions. 
In some States, all the delegates of a party are selected in 
the State convention. The Republican National conven¬ 
tion also admits to full membership two delegates from 
each Territory and one from the District of Columbia. 

The National convention is held in some leading city 
during the month of June or July of the year in which a 
President is to be elected. A few days before the time 
set for the convention, the delegates, together with many 
thousands of politicians and sight-seers, flock to that city. 
Headquarters are established and delegates are inter¬ 
viewed on behalf of the different candidates. On the day 
appointed, the convention is called to order by the chair¬ 
man of the National committee, under whose auspices the 
convention is to be held. A temporary chairman is elected, 
and clerks and secretaries are appointed. Committees are 
also appointed, the most important being those on creden¬ 
tials and on resolutions. Each State delegation selects one 
of its members for each of the committees. In the next 
session, a permanent chairman is usually selected, and the 
committee on resolutions presents its report, which sets 
forth the platform embodying party doctrines and prin¬ 
ciples. Nominations are then in order. The roll of 
States is called, and the various delegations place before 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 119 

the convention the favorite of their State. A State often 
waives its privilege in behalf of some other State which 
has a candidate to present. Again the clerk calls the roll 
of the States, and each chairman of a delegation announces 
the votes from his State. In the Republican convention, 
a majority of the number of delegates voting is sufficient 
to nominate; but no nomination is possible in the Demo¬ 
cratic convention except by a vote of two-thirds of the 
delegates. Then follows the selection of a candidate for 
Vice-President. In this choice, the attempt is made to 
secure some man who will add strength to the party, and 
who comes from a different section of the country from 
that represented by the candidate for the Presidency. He 
may, as in the cases of Tyler and Johnson, represent a 
faction of the party that is not in entire agreement with 
the majority. 

The National Committee. —A National committee is also appointed, 
made up of one member from each State, who is nominated by the 
State delegation. The wishes of the Presidential candidate are of in¬ 
fluence in the choice of the chairman, who need not be a member of the 
convention. The committee occupies a position of great importance, 
for by it the platform of the party is largely determined. We have 
here a body of men not mentioned by the Constitution, but exerting 
vastly greater influence upon the election of President than does the 
electoral college itself. It organizes the campaign, secures money, 
selects speakers, and sends out party literature. The committee looks 
after the interests of the party during the ensuing four years and issues 
the call for the next National convention. 

Election of Electors. — We are now ready to consider 
the place of the electors in the choice of a President. The 
nominations of candidates for the office of elector are 
usually made at the State conventions of the different par- 


120 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


ties when State tickets are nominated. These occur, ordi¬ 
narily, in August or September preceding the November 
election. Each political party nominates as many electors 
as the State has senators and representatives in Congress. 
The names of the electors are then placed on the general 
party ticket, on which appear also the names of the candi¬ 
dates for President and Vice-President; each person then 
votes for the entire number of electors to which his State 
is entitled, and will naturally vote for all the electors on 
his party ticket. The political party, therefore, which 
receives the majority of votes in a State secures all the 
electoral votes of that State . 1 

Vacancies in the Offices of Electors. — Congress enacted in 1845 ‘that 
each State might provide, by law, for the filling of vacancies in the 
electoral college, and that if any State failed to choose electors on the 
regular day, that they might be appointed on a later day in such manner 
.-as the State might, by law, direct. Nearly all of the State legislatures 
have conferred on the college itself the power of filling vacancies. 

Function of Electors. — The steps prescribed by the 
Constitution must still be followed, although we know, 
long before the electors cast their votes, who the next 
President will be. The actual function of the electors is 
given in Amendment XII, as follows: — 

The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote 
by ballot for President and Vice-President , one of whom , at 

1 It has sometimes happened, however, when the election in a State has 
been close, that one or more of the electors on a minority ticket have run 
ahead of the other candidates on that ticket, and have secured a larger num¬ 
ber of votes than candidates on the majority ticket, thus obtaining an election. 
California, in 1892, gave one electoral vote to Mr. Harrison and eight to 
Mr. Cleveland, and again, in 1896, gave eight votes to Mr. McKinley and one 
to Mr. Bryan. Kentucky, in 1896, cast twelve votes for Mr. McKinley and 
one for Mr. Bryan. 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 


121 


least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with 
themselves ; they shall name in their ballots the person voted 
for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for 
as Vice-President; and they shall make distinct lists of all 
persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for 
as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which 
lists they shall sign, and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the 
seat of government of the United States, directed to the 
President of the Senate; — the President of the Senate 
shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Represen¬ 
tatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be 
counted; — the person having the greatest number of votes 
for President shall be the President, if such number be a 
majo7'ity of the whole number of electors appointed; and if 
no person have such majority, then, from the persons having 
the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the list of those 
voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall 
choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing 
the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the repre¬ 
sentation from each State having one vote; a quorum for 
this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two 
thirds of the States, and a majority of the States shall be 
necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives 
shall not choose a President, whenever the right to choose 
shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next 
following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as 
in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of 
the President. — The person having the greatest number of 
votes as Vice-President shall be the Vice-President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of Electors ap¬ 
pointed; and if no person have a majority, then, from the 


122 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


two highest numbers on the list , the Senate shall choose the 
Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of 
two-thirds of the whole number of senators , and a majority 
of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no 
person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President 
shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United 
States. 

Voting of the Electors. — The formal election of Presi¬ 
dent takes place on the second Monday in January, when 
the electors meet at their various State capitals and cast 
their votes. Separate ballots are given for Vice-President. 
Three separate sealed lists of the results are then prepared. 
Two of these are sent to the President of the Senate, one by 
mail and the other by special messenger. The third is de¬ 
posited with the United States District Judge of the district 
in which the electors meet. On the second Wednesday in 
February the votes are opened by the President of the 
Senate, in the presence of the Senate and the House of 
Representatives, and counted. That person having a ma¬ 
jority of the electoral votes cast for President is declared 
to be duly elected. The one who has a majority of the 
electoral votes cast for Vice-President is also elected to 
that office. 

Election of President by the House of Representatives. — In case no 
Presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes, the 
election goes to the House of Representatives, as is provided in the 
amendment we are considering. Here the three candidates having 
the highest number of votes are alone considered. The voting is by 
States. In 1825 John Quincy Adams was elected President in this 
way. He had fewer popular and fewer electoral votes than Andrew 
Jackson, but he received the votes of thirteen out of twenty-four States 
in the House. 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 


123 


Choice of Vice-President by the Senate. — The Senate is called on 
to select the Vice-President in case no candidate has received a major¬ 
ity of the electoral votes. The two candidates having the highest num¬ 
ber of votes are considered. The only instance of the election of a 
Vice-President in this way occurred in 1837. 

Disputed Returns, Election of 1876. — Disputes have arisen, from 
time to time, over some of the returns of the electoral votes. The most 
notable contest was that over the returns from Florida, Louisiana, 
South Carolina, and Oregon, in 1877. If the twenty-one electoral 
votes from these States should be counted for the Republican candidates, 
they would be elected. Should just one of those votes be given to the 
Democratic nominees, the Republicans would lose the election. Now 
the Senate at this time was Republican, and the House Democratic, 
and therefore no satisfactory adjustment could be reached, because of 
party prejudices. The excitement throughout the country was finally 
relieved by the agreement on the part of both houses to refer the 
decision to an “Electoral Commission.” 

This Commission consisted of five Judges of the Supreme Court, five 
Representatives, and five Senators. After examining the returns, the 
commission decided, March 2, 1877, by a vote of eight to seven, that 
Hayes and Wheeler, the Republican candidates, had received the 
twenty-one votes in dispute, thus giving them one hundred and eighty- 
five electoral votes, and that Tilden and Hendricks, the Democratic 
candidates, had received one hundred and eighty-four electoral votes. 

In consequence of the grave problem which arose in 1877, Congress 
passed an act February 3, 1887, which provides that any contest in the 
choice of electors in a State must be decided by the State authorities 
under the laws of the State. 

The Original Method of choosing the President. — Because Presi¬ 
dents Washington, Adams, and Jefferson for his first term, were chosen 
by the plan given in the original clause, let us notice, briefly, the method 
used at that time, and especially the reasons for the change to the 
present plan. 

Section 1, Clause 2. The Electors shall ?neet in their respective States, 
and vote by ballot for two persons, one of whom, at least, shall not be an 
inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a list 
of all the persons voted for, and of the nu?nber of votes for each ; which 
list they sign and certify , and transmit , sealed, to the seat of the govern - 


124 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


merit of the United States , directed to the President of the Senate. The 
President of the Senate shall , in the presence of the Senate and House 
of Representatives, open all the certificates , and the votes shall then be 
counted. The person then having the greatest number of votes shall be 
President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of 
Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such a 
majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of Rep¬ 
resentatives shall immediately choose, by ballot, one of them for Presi¬ 
dent ; and if no person have a majority, then, from the five highest on 
the list, the said House shall, in like manner, choose the President. But 
in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the repre¬ 
sentation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose 
shall consist of a member or members fro?n two-thirds of the States, and 
a majority of all the States be necessary to a choice. In every case, 
after the choice of the President, the perso7i having the greatest number 
of votes of the Electors shall be the Vice-President. But if there should 
remain two or more who have equal votes , the Senate shall choose from 
them, by ballot, the Vice-President. 

According to this clause, we note that the electors voted for two 
persons without stating which was to be President and which Vice- 
President. In the official count, the candidate receiving the highest 
number of votes, provided it was a majority of the whole number of 
the electoral votes, became President, and the one receiving the next 
highest became Vice-President. 

Election of 1796. — In the election of 1796, John Adams, who 
received the highest number, seventy-one, out of one hundred and 
thirty-two electoral votes, was elected President. Thomas Jefferson, 
his opponent, became Vice-President, having received sixty-eight votes, 
or the next highest number. Thus there were elected a President of 
one party and a Vice-President of the opposing party. 

Election of 1800. — The election of 1800 also showed the plan to be 
impracticable. At this time, the Democratic-Republican party was 
determined to have Mr. Jefferson for President and Aaron Burr for 
Vice-President. They both received seventy-three votes, a majority of 
all the votes. But since the number was equal, it devolved upon the 
House of Representatives to determine whether Jefferson or Burr should 
be President. For seven days the house was in continuous session, 
and civil war threatened. On the thirty-sixth ballot, however, Jefferson 
received the votes of ten States out of sixteen, and was elected. 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 


125 


In order to prevent a recurrence of the conditions which obtained in 
1796, or of the dangers incident to a contest like that of 1800, the 
twelfth Amendment was proposed by Congress, and, after ratification, 
was declared in force September 25, 1804. This provides, as we have 
seen, that the electoral votes must be cast separately for President and 
Vice-President. 

The Presidential Term. — Shall the President hold office for a term 
of three years, of seven years, or during good behavior ? These were 
questions of great interest in the Constitutional Convention. A term of 
seven years with no reelection was agreed upon, but toward the end of 
the Convention the clause as given was adopted. 

Reelection of a President. — The Constitution does not limit the 
number of terms for which a President may be chosen, but the “ third 
term tradition ” has now made it practically impossible for the same 
man to be elected for more than two terms. This custom was inaugu¬ 
rated by the refusal of President Washington to accept a third term. 
President Jefferson was also urged to stand for a third term, but he, too, 
preferred to retire to private life as Washington had done. The 
adherents of General Grant strove to break down this precedent in 1880, 
but their defeat seems to have established the tradition more firmly as 
a rule. 

A Longer Term. — It is frequently urged that the Constitution should 
be amended in such a manner as to provide for a term of six 
or seven years for the President, with no reelection. Among the 
reasons for this change are the following: (1) a new President has 
most of his time, for months, at the beginning of his term, consumed 
in hearing the claims of applicants for office, and in making appoint¬ 
ments ; (2) there is danger that he may be influenced in his official 
actions through desire to secure a second term; (3) the commercial 
depression that usually exists during a campaign would thus come less 
frequently. These arguments may be used in opposition to such a 
change : (1) in the case of an inefficient President, the short term is to 

be preferred; (2) the Presidential dhmpaign is of value, in that the 
attention of Americans generally is for a time fixed on the problems 
connected with the conduct of our government. It furnishes the op¬ 
portunity for imparting to our citizens many lessons in their political 
education. 


126 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


Qualifications for President and Vice-President.—The 
qualifications for President and Vice-President are natu¬ 
rally the same, and are as follows: — 

Section i, Clause 4. No person , except a natural-boi'n citi¬ 
zen , or a citizen of the United States at the time of the 
adoption of this Constitution , shall be eligible to the office of 
President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office 
who shall not have attamed to the age of thirty-five years , 
and been fourteen years a resident within the United States. 

Vacancies. — The chief reason for creating the office of 
Vice-President seems to have been to provide for the 
emergency of a vacancy in the Presidency. 

Section 1, Clause 5. In case of the removal of the Presi¬ 
dent from office or of his death , resignation, or inability to 
discharge the powers and duties of the said office , the same 
shall devolve on the Vice-President , and the Congress may , 
by law , provide for the case of removal , death , resignation , 
or mobility both of the President and Vice-President , de¬ 
claring what officer shall then act as President , and such 
officer shall act accordingly , until the disability be removed , 
or a President shall be elected. 

Presidential Succession.—In 1886, Congress provided 
that in case of the death, resignation, or disability 1 of both 
President and Vice-President, the succession should be in 
the following order: Secretary of State, Secretary of the 

1 What constitutes disability has not been settled. President Garfield per¬ 
formed only the single executive act of signing an extradition paper, from 
July 2 to September 19, 1881. The fact of his inability to discharge the 
duties of President was not formally established. Nor was there declared 
disability in the case of President McKinley, between September 6 and the 
day of his death, September 14, 1901. 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 


127 


Treasury, Secretary of War, Attorney-General, Postmaster- 
General, Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of the Interior. 
The Secretary of Agriculture was added in 1889. 

Should a cabinet officer become President, through this 
succession, he would hold the office for the unexpired 
term. 

Salary of the President. —Section 1, Clause 6. The Presi¬ 
dent shall , at stated times , receive for his services a compen¬ 
sation . which shall neither be mere as ed nor diminished 
during the period for which he may have been elected , and 
he shall not receive within that period any other emolu¬ 
ment from the United States or any of them. 

In 1873 the salary of the President was changed from 
$25,000 to $50,000 a year. The custom has been estab¬ 
lished that no President shall receive a gift from any 
civil body, such as a city council, a State Legislature, or a 
foreign state. In addition to his salary, the President is 
provided with an “executive mansion,” the “White House,” 
which is furnished at the expense of the government. The 
Vice-President receives $8000 annually. 

Salaries of Foreign Rulers. — The salary paid our President is 
small when we compare it with the grants made to European rulers. 
In 1901 the English government voted some $4,000,000 for the annual 
use of the royal household. The Czar of Russia receives $6,500,000 
annually, in addition to revenues derived from 1,000,000 square miles 
of crown domains. The President of France receives $231,600 annually. 

Inauguration Day. — One of the most notable of our 
civic festivals occurs on the fourth of March 1 after the 

1 It is frequently urged, with good reason, that this date should be changed 
to a time of year when the weather in Washington would be more favorable. 
An amendment, recently sanctioned by the Senate, provides that the date for 


128 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


Presidential election. Then, thousands of people go to 
Washington to witness the inaugural exercises, by which 
the President and Vice-President are formally invested with 
their offices. The Constitution provides that the President 
shall take the following oath of office before entering on 
his duties: — 

Section i, Clause 7. I do solemnly swear {or affirm) that 
I zvill faithfully execute the office of President of the United 
States, and zvill to the best of my ability preserve , protect , 
and defend the Constitution of the United States. 

It has been established, by custom, that the oath shall be 
administered by the Chief Justice of the United States, at 
the east front of the Capitol. After taking the oath, the 
President gives his inaugural address, which outlines the 
policy he purposes to carry out. Immediately after his 
inauguration, unless it be his second term, he calls the 
Senate together, and places before it his nominations for 
members of the cabinet, and for such other important 
offices as he may desire to make. 

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES. 

1. Which of the Presidents have served two terms? How was their 

election for a second term to be accounted for ? 

2. The method of calling national political conventions. When 

held ? Questions considered. Make a study of the last con¬ 
vention. Cosmop., 29: 194-200; Scribner’s Mag., 27:643-656. 

3. Under what conditions was the first platform of a national conven¬ 

tion agreed upon ? Wilson, Division and Reunion, 63. 

4. For the work of the national committee, see Rev. of R’s, 22: 

549-556; 556-563. 

the inauguration shall be the last Thursday of April. The chief objection to 
this change seems to be the further extension of time between the election 
and the assuming of duties. 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 


129 

5. The power of the chairman of the National committee is discussed 

in Atl. Mo., 89: 76-81. 

6. What was the probable origin of the system of electing the Presi¬ 

dent by electors ? Harrison, This Country of Ours, 78; Fiske, 
Critical Period of American History, 66, 280-289. 

7 * For the methods which have been used in electing a President, 
see N. Am. Rev., 171: 273-280. 

8. Should the President be elected by direct popular vote ? N. Am. 

Rev., 171 : 273-280; 281-288; Scribner’s Mag., 27: 643-656. 

9. For some of the problems connected with the electoral colleges in 

the history of elections, see Rev. of R’s, 23 : 66-69. 

10. What is the method used in counting the electoral votes ? Edmund 

Alton, Among the Lawmakers, 88-89. 

11. Do you agree with Mr. Bryce that the tendency is to select for 

President men who have not been prominent ? Bryce, Ameri¬ 
can Commonwealth, I, chap. 8. 

12. Was the present President notable before his election ? In what 

ways ? 

13. What were the chief causes for the success of his party ? 

14. How many electoral votes were required for election ? He received 

how many ? Did he receive a majority of the popular votes ? 
Election of igoo, Rev. of R’s, 22 : 673-674 ; 655-658. 

15. How many electors were there from your State ? For whom did 

they vote ? How is this majority in your State to be accounted 
for ? Rev. of R’s, 22: 673-674, 655-658, 664. 

16. Would successful governors make good candidates for President? 

In what particulars do the offices resemble each other ? Would 
you favor making the governor of your State President ? Wil¬ 
son, Congressional Government, 253, 254. 

17. Why was the election of John Quincy Adams of especial interest ? 

What results followed ? Burgess, The Middle Period, 140- 
141 ; Wilson, Division and Reunion, 18. 

18. State the chief points connected with the “disputed election” of 

1876. Wilson, Division and Reunion, 283-286 ; Johnston, Ameri¬ 
can Politics, 233-237 ; Cent. Mag., 62: 923-934. 

19. Give the names of the Presidents who have died in office. B> 

whom were they succeeded ? 

20. What was the order of succession to the Presidency before 1886 ? 

K 


130 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


Why was the change made? James and Sanford, Government 
in State and Nation, 266. 

21. What is a “minority” President? Government in State and 

Nation, 264. 

22. An interesting account of the White House, Outlook, 70: 287- 

299. 

23. Inauguration events of 1901, Rev. of R’s, 23 : 405, 406 ; Out¬ 

look, 67: 555, 556. 

24. Incidents of Presidential inaugurations. World’s Work, 1:477- 

479 - 

25. For other questions and references on the chapter, see Govern¬ 

ment in State and Nation, 255-257, 269, 270. 


CHAPTER XIV. 


POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT. 

Military Powers of the President. — An eminent histo¬ 
rian, 1 writing recently of the power exercised by President 
Lincoln in time of war, said, “It is an interesting fact, 
that the ruler of a republic which sprang from a resistance 
to the English king and Parliament should exercise more 
arbitrary power than any Englishman since Oliver Crom¬ 
well, and that many of his acts should be worthy of a 
Tudor.” 

President Lincoln, it is true, exercised powers which, 
if attempted by a weaker man, or at another time, might 
have proved dangerous to the liberties of the people. 2 This 
he did through his interpretation of Clause i, Section 2. 

The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army 
and navy of the United States , and of the militia of the 
several States when called into the actual service of the 
United States; he may require the opinion , in writing , of 
the principal officer in each of the executive departments , 
upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective 
offices , and he shall have power to grant reprieves and par¬ 
dons for offences against the United States, except in cases 
of impeachment. 

1 James Ford Rhodes, Scribner's Magazine , February, 1903. 

2 For the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus , see p. ill. 

131 


132 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


Reprieves and Pardons. — The ordinary powers of the 
President are also important. 1 One of the greatest is the 
power to grant reprieves and pardons. A reprieve is the 
temporary suspension of the execution of a sentence. By 
means of a reprieve, the President may gain time to look 
into the evidence more carefully. Complete release 
from a sentence is secured by a pardon. 2 

Treaty-making Power. — Section 2, Clause 2. He shall 
have power , by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate , to make treaties , provided two-thirds of the senators 
present concur. 

While the power to conclude treaties seems to be without 
restriction, it is implied that no treaty shall in any way 
interfere with the authority of the Constitution. The 
usual steps in the negotiation of treaties are as follows: 
(1) In time of peace they are conducted at the capital 
of the nation that begins the negotiation. If this is in 
Washington, the terms are considered by the Secretary of 
State and the minister of the other nation; if in a foreign 
capital, our minister acts under instructions sent him by 
the Secretary of State. At times, one or more special 
ministers are sent abroad for the purpose of negotiating a 
treaty. (2) In time of war, the minister of the nation with 
which we are at war leaves the United States. The 
interests of his nation are then intrusted to the minister of 
some neutral power, and through this minister negotiations 

1 For the power of the President over legislation by means of the veto, 
see pp. 80-81. 

2 President Harrison was called upon to consider 779 requests for pardon. 
Of these, 527 were granted, wholly or partially. President Cleveland acted 
on 907 such cases, and granted 506, in whole or in part. 


POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT. 133 


for peace are usually begun. (3) The treaty of peace at 
the close of a war is generally negotiated in some neutral 
country by special commissioners appointed by the nations 
at war. 

In all cases, the President exercises general control 
oyer the negotiation and framing of treaties. After an 
agreement has been reached, the treaty is sent to the 
Senate. It is discussed in executive or secret session. 
This means that the treaty and all matters pertaining to it 
are kept secret until, by a resolution, the Senate allows the 
discussion to be made public. The Senate may approve, re¬ 
ject, or modify the terms. If amendments are made, they 
must be agreed to by the President and by the other nation 
interested. When a treaty has been finally approved by the 
officials of both countries, duplicate copies of it are made 
on parchment. Both of these copies are signed by the 
chief officers of each country, and the copies are then 
exchanged. This is called the “ exchange of ratification.” 
An official copy of the treaty is thus secured by each 
nation. The President then publishes the treaty accom¬ 
panied by a proclamation, in which it is declared to be a 
part of the law of the land. 

If the terms of a treaty call for the payment of money by the 
United States, the necessary amount can be appropriated only by an 
Act of Congress. The House of Representatives may refuse to give its 
sanction to such an appropriation, and may thus prevent the treaty 
going into effect. 

Power of Appointment —When it is considered that the 
President has the nominal power of appointing over 200,000 
persons to office, we can readily see that this comprises 
one of his chief powers. His right to select office-holders 


134 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


is granted in Section 2, Clause 2. He shall nominate, 
and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate , 
shall appoint Ambassadors, other public ministers and 
Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers 
of the United States, whose appointments are not herein 
otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by 
law; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of 
such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President 
alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

Vacancies. — Section 2, Clause 3. The President shall 
have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen 
during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions 
which shall expire at the end of their next session. 

Presidential Appointments. — It would be quite impos¬ 
sible for the President, personally, to oversee all of these 
appointments, and so a large percentage of them is made 
by officials in the different departments. There are, 
besides the ambassadors, consuls, and judges of the 
Supreme Court, some 7000 so-called Presidential officers, 
whose appointments must receive the sanction of the 
Senate. More than one-half of these are postmasters of 
the first class. 1 Among the most important of these 
officers are the Cabinet, interstate commerce commis¬ 
sioners, district attorneys, and all military and naval 
officers whose appointment is not otherwise ordered by 
law. 

Official Patronage. — In making his appointments, the President is 
largely dependent upon the advice of the head of that department un¬ 
der whose direction the officer will come, or upon the recommendation 
of the representatives and senators of his party from the State in which 

1 Those who receive an annual salary of $1000 and above. 


POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT. 


35 


the office is located. This official patronage, through which political 
assistants in a State may be rewarded with a Federal office, has become 
so burdensome that many Congressmen complain of it and desire to be 
freed from its exactions. 

Senatorial Courtesy. — There has grown up an almost invariable 
custom, known as senatorial courtesy. This demands that if the office 
to be filled is located in a State, the appointment be not confirmed un¬ 
less it receives the sanction of one or both of the senators of the State 
concerned, provided they are members of the same political party as 
the President. 

Action of the Senate on Nominations. — All of the nominations sent 
by the President to the Senate are submitted to appropriate commit¬ 
tees, as, postmasters to the Post Office Committee, ambassadors to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs. The report of the committee is con¬ 
sidered in secret session, and the nomination is then voted on. If the 
vote is adverse, the President must make another nomination. 

The Spoils System. — During the first forty years of our 
government there were only seventy-four removals from 
office. The opinion was general that there were a large 
number of strictly non-political offices in the departments 
and elsewhere, the holders of which should be regarded as 
agents or clerks whose duty it was to assist in carrying 
on the business of government. Therefore the best results 
could be secured, it was believed, only as these positions 
should be filled by persons the most competent, who might 
hope to retain the office so long as they gave efficient ser¬ 
vice. But with the coming in of President Jackson the 
“spoils system” was introduced. This system, in prac¬ 
tice, provides that political workers belonging to a victorious 
party may, as far as possible, receive reward for their ser¬ 
vices in the shape of some office. “To the victors belong 
the spoils of the enemy ” is the familiar motto of those 
who have advocated this system. During the first year of 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


136 

President Jackson’s administration 2000 officials were de¬ 
prived of their offices, and friends of the administration 
were put in their positions. From that time there has 
been great pressure on every new President similarly to 
reward his followers. 

Civil Service Reform. — While the evils had been pointed 
out at various times, little was done to remedy the spoils 
system until Congress, in 1883, passed the Civil Service 
Law, known as the Pendleton Bill. It provides for a Civil 
Service Commission of three members, not more than two 
of whom may belong to the same political party. This 
commission gives competitive examinations, which are re¬ 
quired for testing the fitness of applicants for certain posi¬ 
tions in the public service. The number of offices originally 
included under the act was about 14,000. The President 
is given the power to direct the further extension of the 
“ classified service,” that is, those positions that are to be 
filled by persons who have passed the best examinations. 
In 1902 there were over 120,000 classified offices. 1 While 
much has been accomplished, during the past twenty years, 
toward reforming civil service appointments, it is to be 
hoped that a large number of the unclassified offices 
will, at an early date, be placed on the list to be filled 
only after examination. 2 The National government may 

1 Nineteenth Report of the United States Civil Service Commission, 1901- 
1902, p. 22. 

2 In 1902 there were 116,000 offices unclassified or excepted, some 72,000 
of which were fourth-class post offices. During the year 1901-1902, the 
civil service rules providing for competitive examinations were extended by 
order of the President or by Act of Congress so as to include the rural free 
delivery service, employees of the permanent census bureau, and additional 
employees made necessary because of the war with Spain. 


POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT. 137 

thus further assist in the movement for like reforms already 
so well begun in some of our States and cities. 

Duties of the President. — Section 3. He shall , from 
time to time , give to the Congress information of the state 
of the Union , and recommend to their consideration such 
measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may } 
071 extraordinary occasions , convene both houses , or either 
of them , and in case of disagreeme?it between them , with 
respect to the time of adjournment , he 7 nay adjourn them to 
such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambas- 
sadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that 
the laws be faithfully executed , a 7 id shall commission all 
the officers of the United States. 

Presidential Messages. — By means of the annual mes¬ 
sage sent to Congress at the opening of the session, and 
special messages on particular occasions, the President is 
enabled to call attention to the legislative needs of the 
country. The plan of having a message read in each 
House by the clerk or secretary was introduced by Presi¬ 
dent Jefferson. Presidents Washington and Adams ad¬ 
dressed, in person, Congress assembled in joint session. 
Various reasons have been alleged for this change. Presi¬ 
dent Jefferson was a poor speaker, and it is said that he 
regarded the formal address as monarchical. 

Enforcement of the Laws.—The most important duty 
of the President is to see that all laws passed by Congress 
are faithfully executed. Laws are useless unless they are 
enforced, and it is chiefly for the performance of this task 
that the Executive was originally created. It is not con- 


133 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


templated that this duty shall be performed by him in 
person, but through officials who are directly responsible 
to him. The United States marshals and their deputies 
exercise a wide influence in seeing that the laws are en¬ 
forced. They usually act under an order from a United 
States court, but may, at times, act without such a writ. 
If necessary, the President may send the army and navy 
of the United States or call out the militia of the States to 
overcome any resistance to federal law. 

Each State possesses the power of enforcing its own laws and is of 
right protected in the exercise of this prerogative. In case of an insur¬ 
rection, however, the State militia is sent by order of the Governor to 
suppress it. Should they fail to restore order, the Legislature, or the 
executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), applies to the 
President for military aid. 1 If the uprising has interfered in any way 
with the carrying out of the laws of the nation, the President may, at 
his discretion, send troops to suppress it without having been asked to 
do so by the Legislature or the Governor. There was a notable illus¬ 
tration of this point during the time of the Chicago riots, in July, 1894. 

President Cleveland vs. The Governor of Illinois. — In addition to 
destroying property belonging to the railways centering in Chicago, the 
striking employees prevented the free movement of the trains. Mr. 
Altgeld, then Governor of Illinois, did not provide against these abuses, 
and President Cleveland ordered the United States troops under General 
Miles to suppress the rioting. The President, who was severely criti¬ 
cised by Mr. Altgeld, justified his sending the troops on the following 
grounds: (1) that the processes of the federal courts could not be 
executed; (2) that the transportation of the United States mails was 
obstructed; and (3) that the laws on interstate commerce were not 
enforced. 

The United States Supreme Court took the same position as Presi- 

1 Article IV, Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State 
in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion ; and on application of the legislature , or the executive (when 
the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence. 


POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT. 139 


dent Cleveland in a case which grew out of these riots. Mr. Justice 
Brewer, in delivering the opinion of the court, said : “We hold that the 
government of the United States is one having jurisdiction over every 
foot of soil within its territory and acting directly upon each citizen; 
that while it is a government of enumerated powers, it has within the 
limits of those powers all the attributes of sovereignty; that to it is com¬ 
mitted power over interstate commerce and the transmission of the 
mails, and that these powers have been assumed and put into practical 
exercise by the legislation of Congress.” 

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES. 

1. What have been some of the most important treaties entered into 

on the part of the United States? 

2. For the treaty made at the close of the Spanish-American War, 

see Rev. of R’s, 18: 258, 371, 515, 631; ig : n, 261, 262, 266, 267. 

3. In what ways may a treaty be abrogated ? Harrison, This Country 

of Ours, 140, 141. 

4. May a President have many of the privileges of private life? 

Harrison, This Country of Ours, 177-180. 

5. What are some of the official cares of the President? Harrison, 

This Country of Ours, 162-177. 

6. The Overworked President, McClure’s Mag., 28: 483-492; Rev. of 

R’s, 25 : 464-466. 

7. Secure a copy of the last report of the Civil Service Commission, 

and also Manual of Examinations for the Classified Service of 
the United States, and look up the following: — 

a. How many persons are included in the civil service of the 

United States ? 

b. What proportion of them is included in the classified 

service ? 

c. Does the law of 1883 seem to have brought about satis¬ 

factory results ? 

d. What offices have been included in the extensions of the 

Civil Service Law? 

e. What is the nature of the questions asked in the exami¬ 

nations ? 

8. The Fifteenth Annual Report of the Commission (pp. 443-485) 

contains an account of the appointments and removals by 


140 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


the various Presidents from 1789 to 1883. Also an account 
of the growth of civil service reform in the States and cities 
of the United States, pp. 489-502. 

9. May a man be fitted for political preferment and not be competent 
to pass an adequate examination ? 

10. For other articles on civil service reform, see ( a ) The Civil Ser¬ 

vice and the Merit System, Forum, 27:705-712. ( b ) Some 

Popular Objections to Civil Service Reform, Atl. Mo., 65 : 433- 
444; 671-678. (c) Roosevelt, An Object Lesson in Civil Ser¬ 
vice Reform, Atl. Mo., 67: 252-257. ( d ) George William Curtis 

and Civil Service Reform, Atl. Mo., 75: 15-24. (<r) Rice, Im¬ 

provement of the Civil Service, N. Am. Rev., 161:601-611. 
(/) Roosevelt, Present Status of Civil Service Reform, Atl. 
Mo., 75:239-246. (g ) Roosevelt, Six Years of Civil Service 
Reform, Scribner’s Mag., 18:238-247. (//) The purpose of 

Civil Service Reform, Forum, 30 :608-619. 

11. What was the Tenure of Office Act of 1867? Why did it become 

of great importance? Is it still in force? Wilson, Division 
and Reunion, 267, 270-271, 297; Harrison, This Country of 
Ours, 101-103. 

12. What were the chief points discussed in the President’s last 

annual message ? 


CHAPTER XV. 


THE CABINET. 

Formation of Departments.—The Constitution nowhere 
mentions the President’s Cabinet. It was taken for 
granted, however, that departments similar to those found 
in the Cabinet would be formed. The Constitution declares 
that the President “ may require the opinions in writing of 
the heads of the executive departments,” and again, that 
“ Congress may vest the appointment of certain inferior 
officers in the heads of these departments.” 

In 1789 the first Congress created the Departments of 
State, War, and Treasury, also the office of Attorney- 
General. President Washington’s Cabinet consisted of 
the officials whom he appointed to fill these four positions. 
The Navy Department was added in 1798. While a Post- 
Office Department was established in 1794, the Postmaster- 
General was not made a member of the Cabinet until 1829. 
In 1849, ^e Interior Department was created by grouping 
under it certain duties which had belonged to other de¬ 
partments. The Department of Agriculture was made a 
Cabinet position in 1889. In 1903 the Department of 
Commerce and Labor was authorized by an act of Con¬ 
gress. Members of the Cabinet receive an annual salary 
of $8000. 

The President and his Cabinet. — One of the first official 
acts of a President is to send to the Senate, for its 

141 


142 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


approval, the names of the men whom he desires shall 
constitute his Cabinet. This is now a mere formality. 
The President is himself the one most interested in the 
success of his administration and is of right given complete 
freedom in selecting his immediate advisers. While the 
views of the members of the Cabinet usually have weight 
with the President, he is not obliged to take their advice. 
Indeed, in some instances the President has carried out a 
line of action which was against the wishes of the secretary 
of the department affected. 

The Department of State. 

The Secretary of State. — The Secretary of State is 
commonly called the head of the Cabinet. He is first in 
rank at the Cabinet table, and occupies the seat of dignity 
at the right of the President. Under the direction of the 
President he conducts all negotiations relating to the for¬ 
eign affairs of the nation; carries on the correspondence 
with our representatives in other countries ; receives the 
representatives of foreign powers accredited to the United 
States, and presents them to the President. Through him, 
the President communicates with the executives of the 
different States. He has charge of the treaties made with 
foreign powers, and negotiates new ones. He has also in 
his keeping the laws of the United States and the great 
seal which he affixes to all executive proclamations, com¬ 
missions, and other official papers. 

The Diplomatic Bureau. —The United States, in common 
with other nations, sends representatives to the foreign 
capitals. They are the agents through whom the Secre- 


THE CABINET. 


143 


tary of State communicates and negotiates with other 
powers. Such affairs are conducted through the Diplo¬ 
matic Bureau. The United States has now about thirty-five 
ambassadors and ministers. Our representatives at the 
courts of England, France, Germany, Russia, Italy, Aus¬ 
tria, and Mexico are known as ambassadors. The am¬ 
bassadors to the first four countries receive a salary of 
$17,500 each. 

The social demands made upon our Ambassadors are great, and they 
are also obliged to provide for their places of residence. The salaries 
paid are not sufficient to meet these necessary expenses, and are small in 
comparison with those paid by the European nations to officers of the 
same rank. Thus, the English Ambassador at Washington receives a 
salary of $32,500. Besides the English, the German, the Japanese, and 
some other nations have provided houses for their legations. 

The Consular Bureau. —A consul is sent by the United 
States to each of the chief cities in the consular districts 
into which foreign countries are divided by our State 
Department. These consuls, of whom there are three 
grades, Consuls-General, Consuls, and Consular Agents, 
look after the commercial interests of the United States in 
those districts. They make monthly reports on improve¬ 
ments in agricultural and manufacturing processes. These 
reports also give information regarding good markets for 
our products and of the best markets in which to purchase 
foreign products. 1 Consuls care for destitute American 
sailors and protect the interests of our citizens in foreign 
countries. In some of the non-Christian nations, such as 

1 Among scores of similar subjects, our consuls reported in 1900 on the fol¬ 
lowing : American goods in Syria ; American commerce with Asia Minor and 
eastern Europe ; German opinion of American locomotives ; American coal 
in Germany ; Europe and American competition. 


144 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


China and Turkey, they also have jurisdiction over all 
criminal cases in which any American citizen may be a 
party. The importance of such services to our country is 
self-evident. The appointment of these 765 officials, to¬ 
gether with their subordinates, is usually secured under 
party pressure. It would have a wholesome influence on 
our rapidly developing commercial interests were these 
positions placed in the classified service. 1 

The Department of the Treasury. 

The Secretary of the Treasury. — The Department of 
the Treasury is the most extensive and complex of the 
executive departments. In general, the Secretary of the 
Treasury has charge of the finances of the nation. He is 
required to prepare plans for the creation and improvement 
of the revenues and the public credit and to superintend 
the collection of the revenue. He gives orders for all 
moneys drawn from the Treasury in accordance with 
appropriations made by Congress, and submits an annual 
report to Congress which contains an estimate of the 
probable receipts and expenditures of the government. 

The Auditors. — It is very important that the accounts of the govern¬ 
ment should be carefully scrutinized, and one of the six auditors con¬ 
nected with the Treasury Department must pass upon the accounts of 
every public officer who pays out money. Thus, the Auditor for the 
Treasury Department examines all accounts of salaries and incidental 
expenses of the office of the Secretary of the Treasury and all other 
offices under his immediate direction, such as the Treasurer and Directors 
of the Mints. 

The Treasurer. — All the money of the United States is under the 
care of the Treasurer. He receives and pays it out upon the warrant of 

1 See report Civil Service Commission, 1901-1902, p. 32. 


THE CABINET. 


145 


the Secretary of the Treasury or a designated assistant, redeems the 
notes of the National banks, and manages the Independent Treasury 
System. This system renders the Treasury Department practically 
independent of the banks of the country. It includes the Treasury at 
Washington and sub-treasuries, each in charge of an assistant treas¬ 
urer at Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chi¬ 
cago, St. Louis, New Orleans, and San Francisco. While the greater 
part of the money belonging to the government is found in these places, 
about two hundred National banks have also been designated as public 
depositories. 

The Chief of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. — The Bureau 1 
of Engraving and Printing is one of the largest in the department and 
employs about 1600 people. It has been said that the products of this 
bureau, in the course of a single year, represent a sum equal in value to 
all the money in circulation in the United States ; for here the engraving 
of the plates and the printing of all the United States circulating notes,, 
bonds, revenue stamps, and postage stamps are done. 

Other Officers of the Treasury Department. —Among the 
other leading officials of the Treasury Department are: 
Comptroller of the Currency, Commissioner of Internal 
Revenue, General Superintendent of the Life-saving Ser¬ 
vice, Solicitor of the Treasury, Supervising Surgeon- 
General, and Supervising Architect. 

The Life-saving Service. — This is one of the most important offices 
in the Treasury Department. More than 2000 men are employed in 
the 273 stations, located generally at danger points on the oceans 
and the Great Lakes. Out of the 4337 lives imperiled in the year 1903 
in the disasters on water, only 24 were lost. 2 Of the property involved, 
which was valued at $9,051,150, 88 per cent was saved. It has been 
estimated that 225,000 lives have been saved through this service since 
it was founded in 1848. 

The Solicitor of the Treasury. — The Solicitor of the Treasury is 
the law officer of the department, and has charge of all prosecutions 

1 The work of each department is usually distributed among the bureaus.. 
Bureaus are again divided into divisions. At the head of each bureau is a 
commissioner, and of each division a chief. 

2 Report of the Secretary of Treasury, 1902-1903. 

L 


4 6 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


by the government arising out of the counterfeiting of the government 
securities, or of the infringement of customs revenue, and of all suits for 
the collection of moneys due the United States, except those due under 
the internal revenue laws. 

The Supervising Surgeon-General. — The Supervising Surgeon-Gen¬ 
eral superintends the twenty-two marine hospitals where our sick sailors 
are cared for; conducts the quarantine service of the United States; 
and directs the laboratories for the investigation of the causes of conta¬ 
gious diseases. 


The War Department. 

The Secretary of War.—The Secretary of War, under 
the direction of the President, has charge of the military 
affairs of the government. He supervises all estimates of 
appropriations for the expenses of the department . 1 He 
has under his supervision also the military academy at 
West Point, all national cemeteries, and river and harbor 
improvement. The chiefs of the eleven bureaus are regu- 
, lar army officers. 

The Adjutant-General. —The Adjutant-General issues orders for the 
muster of troops and for their movement, conducts the correspondence 
of the department, and keeps the records. 

The Inspector-General. — The Inspector-General examines and re¬ 
ports on all places where United States troops are stationed; on pub¬ 
lic works carried on by army officers; and on the military academy and 
prisons. 

The Quartermaster-General.—Under direction of the Quartermaster- 
General the army is transported, clothed, and equipped. 

The Chief of Ordnance. — Arms are supplied by the Chief of Ord¬ 
nance. The arms used are manufactured chiefly in the United States 
arsenals. The arsenals at Springfield, Mass., and Rock Island, Ill., 
manufacture rifles and carbines; and that at West Troy, N.Y., cannon 
and mortars. 

1 The annual appropriation by Congress for the army alone in 1903 
amounted to $78,138,752. 


THE CABINET. 


147 


The United States Military Academy. — The United States Military 
Academy at West Point was founded in 1802. The corps of cadets is 
made up of one cadet from each of the Congressional districts, one from 
each of the Territories and the District of Columbia, and one hundred 
from the United States at large. Prior to the year 1900 there were only 
ten cadets at large. The act of that year also provided that thirty cadets 
were to be named by the President directly and the remainder appor¬ 
tioned among the States. They all receive their appointments from 
the President, but it has become the custom for the representatives 
and delegates to select (usually after a competitive examination) those 
from the Congressional districts and the Territories. The cadet must 
be between seventeen and twenty-two years of age. Each receives 
$540 a year during the four years of his course. Upon graduation, the 
cadets are commissioned as second lieutenants in the United States 
army. In case there are more graduates than vacancies, those in excess 
are honorably discharged with the payment of one year’s salary. 

The Navy Department. 

The Secretary of the Navy. — The duties of the Secre¬ 
tary of the Navy pertain to the construction, manning, 
arming, equipping, and employment of war-vessels . 1 

The United States Naval Academy. — The naval academy at An¬ 
napolis was established in 1846. One cadet is allowed in the naval 
academy for each member or delegate of the House of Representatives, 
one for the District of Columbia, and ten at large. Candidates for 
admission, at the time of their examination, must be between the ages 
of fifteen and twenty years. The nomination of a candidate to fill a 
vacancy is made upon recommendation of a representative or delegate 
if made before July 1 ; but if no recommendation be made by that time, 
the Secretary of the Navy fills the vacancy by appointing an actual resi¬ 
dent of the district in which the vacancy exists. The President selects 
the candidates at large and the cadet for the District of Columbia. At 
the conclusion of the six years’ course, two of which are spent at sea, the 

1 The appropriation for this department in 1903 was $81,877,291. 


148 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


graduates are assigned in order of merit to the vacancies that may have 
occurred in the lower grades of the line of the navy and of the marine 
corps. Cadets who are not assigned to service after graduation are 
honorably discharged and are given $500, the amount they have re¬ 
ceived each year of their course at the academy. 


The Department of Justice. 

The Attorney-General. — The Attorney-General is the 
legal adviser of the President and of the heads of the 
departments. He supervises the work of all the United 
States district attorneys and marshals, and is assisted by 
the Solicitor-General. Unless otherwise directed, all cases 
before the Supreme Court and the Court of Claims in 
which the United States is a party are argued by the 
Attorney-General and the Solicitor-General. 


The Post Office Department. 

The Postmaster-General. — The Postmaster-General is 
at the head of this department. He appoints all of the 
officers of the department with the exception of the four 
assistant postmasters-general and postmasters of the first 
class, whose appointments are made by the President with 
the consent of the Senate. The Postmaster-General may, 
with the consent of the President, let contracts and make 
postal treaties with foreign governments. 

The Postal Union. — Since 1891 the United States has been a mem¬ 
ber of the Universal Postal Union. By this union over fifty distinct 
powers became parties to an agreement by which uniform rates of post¬ 
age were agreed upon and every facility for carrying mails in each 
country was extended to all the others. 


THE CABINET. 


149 


The Department of the Interior. 

The Secretary of the Interior.—The Interior Department, 
under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, is 
one of the most complex and important of the departments. 
There are two assistant secretaries in the department, 
while at the head of the other offices are six commissioners 
and two directors. 

The Commissioner of the General Land Office. — The Commissioner 
of the General Land Office has charge of all the public lands of the 
government, and supervises the surveys, sales, and issuing of titles to 
this property (see p. 169). 

The Commissioner of Education. — The Commissioner of Educa¬ 
tion is the chief of the Bureau of Education. This bureau has charge 
of the collection of facts and statistics relating to the educational sys¬ 
tems and to progress along educational lines in the several States and 
Territories, and also in foreign countries. The reports issued by the 
bureau are of great value to those interested in education. The com¬ 
missioner has advisory power only, except in Alaska. Here he directs 
the management of the schools. 

The Commissioner of Pensions. — The Commissioner of Pensions 
supervises the examination and adjustment of all claims arising under 
the laws of Congress granting bounty land or pensions on account of 
services in the army or navy during the time of war. That our govern¬ 
ment has not been ungrateful may be gathered from the report of the 
commissioner for 1902. There were in that year 999,446 pensioners, to 
whom were paid approximately $140,000,000, or an amount equal 
to 24 per cent of the total revenues of the government. 

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs. — Prior to 1871 the Indian 
tribes were treated as independent nations by the United States, but by 
a law of that year the general government was made the guardian of 
their interests. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs exercises a pro¬ 
tecting care over these “ wards” by directing the work of the Indian 
agents and of the superintendents of Indian schools. 


i5o 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


There are some 145,283 Indians on the 177 reservations which are 
in the various States and Territories. 1 The lands of these reservations 
are held in common ; that is, the ownership is tribal rather than individ¬ 
ual. It is the policy of the government, however, to bring about the 
allotment of lands “ in severalty,” and thus to encourage the Indians to 
adopt an agricultural life. The Indians are only partially self-supporting. 
Some tribes derive an income from funds which are the proceeds derived 
from the sales and cessions of their lands. The National government 
holds this money in trust for them, and, by direct appropriation, supplies 
the money, food, and clothing necessary to complete their support. 
The appropriation for the Indians in 1903 was $8,512,950. Over one- 
fourth of this sum was spent for their education in Indian schools, num¬ 
bering nearly 300, which are under the direct control of the department. 

The Director of the Geological Survey. — The Director of the Geo¬ 
logical Survey collects much valuable information through the exami¬ 
nation of the geological structure, mineral resources, and mineral 
products of the United States. He has charge, also, of the survey 
of the forest reserves. 

The Department of Agriculture. 

The Secretary of Agriculture. — The duties of the Secre¬ 
tary of Agriculture are, “To acquire and diffuse among 
the people of the United States useful information on sub¬ 
jects connected with agriculture in the most comprehensive 
sense of that word.” The activities of the department are 
along many lines, as indicated by the names of the bureaus 
and divisions. 

Bureau of Animal Industry. — Continuous advancement is being 
made by the government toward placing the agricultural pursuits upon 
a more scientific basis. One of its most important services is performed 
in the Bureau of Animal Industry, which inspects the greater part of 

1 Census of 1900. This number does not include the Indians found in the 
Indian Territory. According to this census the total number of Indians then 
in the United States was 331,000. 


THE CABINET. 


151 

the meat products exported to European countries. The law providing 
for this inspection was necessary because of the claim in European 
markets that diseased meats were shipped from the United States. An 
inspection is also provided for live animals intended for exportation and 
for animals imported. Much scientific work is also devoted to a study 
of the various diseases of animals. 

The Division of Seeds.— Over $100,000 are expended each year by 
the Division of Seeds in the purchase of “ rare and valuable ” seeds, 
bulbs, and plants. These are distributed free throughout the country 
for the purpose of fostering the introduction of new and more valuable 
crops. 

Public Road Inquiries. — Another important interest is carried on by 
the Office of Public Road Inquiries. Here experiments are made with 
regard to the best system of road-making and the best materials to be 
used for that purpose. 

Weather Bureau.— Through the Weather Bureau daily forecasts and 
warning of storms are sent to over 50,000 different points, and storm 
signals are displayed at 300 places on our coasts. By its operation, 
millions of dollars are saved each year to the agricultural and maritime 
interests of the country. A recent decree of the Post-Office Department 
renders the reports of the bureau of still greater service. Slips of 
paper having the storm, frost, or other warnings printed on them are 
distributed by the rural mail carriers at the various houses in the dis¬ 
tricts affected. 

The Department of Commerce and Labor. 

Nature of the Department. — Because of the nature of 
the subjects assigned to this, new department, it will 
rapidly become one of the most important of the de¬ 
partments. Among the duties of the Secretary of Com¬ 
merce and Labor are to promote the commerce and the 
mining, manufacturing, shipping, fishery, transportation, 
and labor interests of the United States. The President 
is given the power to transfer to the department those 
bureaus in other departments which are engaged in 


152 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


scientific or statistical work, the Interstate Commerce 
Commission and the scientific divisions of the Agricultural 
Department being excepted. The offices which have been 
transferred are as follows: the Bureau of Labor; the 
Bureau of Statistics; Census Bureau and Immigration 
Bureau; Bureau of Standards of Weights and Measures; 
Bureau of Navigation; the Steamboat Inspection Service; 
Bureau of Fisheries; Coast and Geodetic Survey and 
Light-House Board. The Bureau of Corporations was 
created for the department. The Commissioner of Corpo¬ 
rations is expected to investigate the organization, conduct, 
and management of the business of corporations and other 
combinations engaged in interstate or foreign commerce, 
except such carriers as may be subject to the interstate- 
commerce act. 

The Commissioner of Labor. — This official is charged with the duty 
of investigating the relations between labor and capital; the earnings 
of laborers ; and the means which may be used to promote their welfare. 
Every other month a bulletin is published which sets forth the condition 
of labor in this and other countries. 

The Chief of the Bureau of Statistics. —The Chief of the Bureau of 
Statistics collects and publishes the annual statistics on commerce. 
These reports are of such a character that they are invaluable to the 
President in the preparation of his messages; and they are used exten¬ 
sively by the heads of departments, members of Congress, and the 
public. Tariff laws, special legislation for particular industries, and all 
international trade treaties are also based on these compilations. The 
greatest demand is for the Annual Statistical Abstract, which presents 
in a condensed form the history of the commerce of the United States 
for a number of preceding years. 

The Commissioner-General of Immigration. — This officer superin¬ 
tends the work of the Commissioners of Immigration who are in charge 
of inspectors at the ports of entrance. Every immigrant must undergo 
a rigid examination in order to ascertain whether he belongs to any of 


THE CABINET 


153 


the prohibited classes. 1 Each immigrant must pay a tax of one dollar, 
which sum is used to pay the expenses of the bureau. The work of the 
Census Bureau was described on pages 55-56. 

The Superintendent of the Coast and Geodetic Survey.—This 
officer superintends the survey of the coasts and rivers of the United 
States. He has charge of the publication of charts and sailing direc¬ 
tions which are of inestimable value to mariners. 

The Light-House Board. — The Light-House Board has charge of the 
light-houses, of which 1199 had been established previous to the year 
1899, besides the light vessels and beacons used for the protection of 
navigation. 

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES. 

1. Does the President select the members of his Cabinet from among 

former members of Congress ? Would this be desirable ? 

2. Have the members of the Cabinet ever been allowed to appear 

before Congress in the interests of their own departments ? 
Would this be desirable? Walker, The Making of the Nation, 
92; Bryce, American Commonwealth, I, Chapter 9; Atl. Mo., 
65: 771 - 772 . 

3. Who are now the heads of the executive departments ? Were 

they prominent in National affairs before they were selected for 
these positions ? 

4. In 1901 a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives 

which provided for an increase of the annual salary of the Vice- 
President to $25,000, and that of each member of the Cabinet 
to $15,000. What reasons can you give for or against such a 
change ? 

5. What was the history of the State Department prior to 1789 ? 

Harrison, This Country of Ours, 182-187. 

6. Give a list of the Presidents who have been Secretaries of State. 

How do you account for this policy in the first years of our 
government, and not at a later time ? Name some of the other 
prominent Secretaries of State. 

1 In 1903 there were 857,046 immigrants to the United States, and 8769 
were refused admission. Of these there were 5812 paupers ; 1086 contract 
laborers ; 1773 diseased persons. 


154 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


7. Who are our ambassadors ? Can you give the name of any 

foreign ambassadors in Washington? See Congressional 
Directory. 

8. The methods by which our ministers are selected, take possession 

of their offices, and are presented at foreign courts, are described 
in Curtis, The United States and Foreign Powers, 15-21. 

9. The Duties of Ministers. Curtis, The United States and Foreign 

Powers, 22-26. 

10. Are our ambassadors given adequate salaries ? Curtis, The United 

States and Foreign Powers, 13, 14. 

11. From a consular report learn what the duties of a consul are. 

Curtis, The United States and Foreign Powers, 30-33. 

12. For an account of our consular service, a comparison with that 

of other nations, and a consideration of some of the weaknesses 
in our system, see Curtis, The United States and Foreign Powers, 
28-30. 

13. A Business Man and the Consular Service, Century Mag., 60: 268- 

271. 

14. Abuses in our Consular System arising through Appointment, 

Atl. Mo., 85 : 455-466, and 669-683. 

15. A Plea for Consular Inspection, Forum, 30: 28-34. 

16. What is the Great Seal of the United States, and what is its use? 

Harrison, This Country of Ours, igg-200. 

17. What is the particular work of the Marine Department? of the 

Steamboat Inspection Service? of the Marine Hospital? Lyman 
J. Gage, Organization of the Treasury Department, Cosmopoli¬ 
tan, 25 : 355-365- 

18. What is the work of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing? 

Spofford, The Government as a Great Publisher, Forum, 19: 
338 - 349 - 

19. What is the extent of our merchant marine? Should it be in¬ 

creased? Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1900, 437- 
450 - 

20. From the Appendix to the last Finance Report get the chief points 

connected with the work of the following officials: Treasurer, 
Report, 1898, Appendix, 1-20; Chief of the Secret Service Divi¬ 
sion, 861-867. A good description of the Treasury Department 
is given in Scribner’s Mag., 33 : 400-411. 


THE CABINET. 


155 


21. From the last report of the Bureau of Statistics find answers for 

the following: The expenditures of the government in the differ¬ 
ent departments; value of merchandise imported and exported; 
amounts of coin, wheat, cotton, wool, and iron produced, im¬ 
ported, and exported; the chief nationalities of immigrants, 
and comparison of the total number with previous years. 

22. Are our coasts well defended? Harrison, This Country of Ours, 

225. 

23. Describe the work of the President, Secretary of War, Secretary of 

the Navy, and of the other Cabinet officers at the outbreak of 
war, Cosmop. 25 : 255-264. 

24. For illustrated articles on Education at West Point and Annapolis, 

see Outlook, 59 : 839-849, 825-837. 

25. Comparison of our Pension System with that of other Nations, 

Forum, 33: 346-348. 

26. Defects in our Pension System, Forum, 31 : 670-680. 

27. Changing Character of the Immigration to the United States, 

Rev. of R’s, 24: 723, 724. 

28. Why the Chinese should be excluded, Forum, 33 : 53-59. 

29. Why the Chinese should be admitted, Forum, 33 : 50-68. 

30. Influence of the Allotment of Land on the Indian, Forum, 34: 

466-480. 

31. Results of the Work of Experiment Stations, Scribner’s Mag., 31: 

643-660. 

32. For accounts of the new Congressional Library, see Century Mag., 

53: 682-694; 694-711; Atl. Mo., 85: 145-158; Cosmop., 23: 10- 
20. 

33. What is the special value of the work of the Bureau of American 

Republics ? Forum, 30 : 21-27. 

For other questions and references on the topics in this chapter con¬ 
sult Government in State and Nation, 299-302. 


CHAPTER XVI. 


THE NATIONAL JUDICIARY. 

Article III. 

Establishment of an Independent Tribunal. — Alexander 
Hamilton characterized the lack of a judiciary as the 
crowning defect of government under the Confederation. 
If we consider the nature of our present government, 
it is easily seen that some form of independent tri¬ 
bunal is necessary. We have a central government 
exercising complete control over National affairs and for¬ 
eign relations and, at the same time, the State governments 
with equally complete control over questions arising within 
their limits. If differences arise, then, as to the authority 
of National or State government over a given question, 
how are these disputes to be settled peaceably? After a 
brief discussion, the problem was answered in the Con¬ 
stitutional Convention by the formation of a federal 
judiciary. 

Organization of the Judiciary. — The organization of the 
judiciary is provided for as follows: Section i. The judi¬ 
cial power of the United States shall be vested in one Su¬ 
preme Court , and in such inferior courts as the Congress 
may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges y 

156 


THE NATIONAL JUDICIARY. 


157 

both of the Supreme and inferior courts , shall hold their 
offices during good behavior , and shall , at stated tunes , re¬ 
ceive for their services a compensation which shall not be 
diminished during their continuance in office. 

I11 1789 Congress provided that the Supreme Court 
should consist of a Chief Justice and five Associates. 
Circuit and District Courts were also established. The 
Supreme Court at present consists of the Chief Justice and 
eight Associate Justices. It holds one session annually, at 
Washington, beginning on the second Monday in October 
and continuing until about May 1. 

District Courts. — The territory of the United States has been 
divided into judicial districts, none of them crossing State lines and each 
having a District Court. Indian Territory, New York, and Texas have 
each four districts ; Alabama, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee three .each ; 
Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, 
Louisiana, Mississippi, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Vir¬ 
ginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia two each ; and the remaining States 
have each a single district. New Mexico and Oklahoma constitute a dis¬ 
trict, and also Alaska, Arizona, and Hawaii. Generally there is a judge 
for each district, but a single judge is at times assigned to two districts. 

A District Attorney and Marshal are appointed by the President for 
each District Court. The United States District Attorney is required 
to prosecute all persons accused of the violation of Federal law and to 
appear as defendant in cases brought against the government of the 
United States in his district. The United States Marshals execute the 
warrants or other orders of the United States District and Circuit 
Courts and, in general, perform duties connected with the enforcement 
of the Federal laws which resemble the duties of sheriffs under State 
laws. 

Circuit Courts. — The policy has been to have as many Circuit 
Courts as there are Justices of the Supreme Court. It was not until 
1869 that a Circuit Judge was provided for each of the nine circuits. 
The areas of the circuits were determined by grouping several districts 
together; thus, the seventh circuit includes the districts of Indiana, 
Northern and Southern Illinois, Eastern and Western Winconsin. 


58 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


Circuit Courts may be held by a Judge of the Supreme Court assigned 
to, that circuit, by a Circuit Judge, or by the District Judge of the dis¬ 
trict in which the court is held, or by any two of these or by all of them 
sitting together. The law requires that the Justice of the Supreme 
Court shall attend court in each district of his circuit at least once in two 
years. Each of the circuits, the first and the fourth being excepted, has 
now (1903) three Circuit Judges. The increase in the number of cases 
to be tried before the Circuit Courts made the appointment of additional 
Circuit Judges necessary, and by the law of 1891, also, nine Circuit 
Courts of Appeals were established, for each of which an additional Cir¬ 
cuit Judge was provided. The Circuit Courts of Appeals consist of 
three Judges each, any two constituting a quorum. The Judges eligible 
to sit in one of these courts are : the Supreme Court Judge assigned the 
Circuit, the Circuit Judges, and the District Judges of the Circuit. 

The Court of Claims was established in 1855 and consists of a Chief 
Justice and four Associates. It. holds an annual session in Washington. 

Terms and Salaries of the Judges. —That the judiciary 
should be independent of parties and of other influences 
cannot be questioned. Hence the wisdom of the provision 
that United States judges shall hold their offices during 
good behavior and shall receive a compensation for their 
services which shall not be diminished during their con¬ 
tinuance in office. Judges of the United States courts are 
appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate. 

By an act of Congress of 1903, the salary of the Chief 
Justice was fixed at $13,000 per annum ; that of Associate 
Justices, $12,000; Circuit Judges, $7500; and District 
Judges, $6000. 

Jurisdiction of the National Courts.—We are next to 
consider the jurisdiction of the several courts that have 
been described. 

Section 2, Clause 1. The judicial power shall extend to 
all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, 
the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which 


THE NATIONAL JUDICIARY. 


159 


shall be made , under their authority ; — to all cases affecting 
Ambassadors , other public ministers and Consuls ; —to all 
cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; — to contro¬ 
versies to zvhich the United States shall be a party ; — to 
controversies between two or more States ; — between a State 
and citizens of another State ; — between citizens of different 
States ; — between citizens of the same State claiming lands 
under grants of different States , and between a State , or the 
citizens thereof \ and foreign states , citizens or subjects. A 
careful consideration of this clause shows the wide extent 
of the powers of the United States courts. It shows also 
the desirability of having all such cases under their juris¬ 
diction rather than under the authority of the State courts. 
Associate Justice Brewer wrote recently, with reference to 
the influence of the decisions of the Supreme Court on the 
history of the country : 1 “ Its decisions have always been 
in harmony with and sustaining the proposition that this 
republic is a nation acting directly upon all its citizens, 
with the attributes and authority of a nation, and not a 
mere league or confederacy of States. The importance of 
this cannot be overestimated, and will be appreciated by 
all who compare the weakness of the old confederacy with 
the strength and vigor of the republic under the present 
Constitution.” 

Suit against a State by a Citizen of Another State. — In the nota¬ 
ble case of Chisholm vs. Georgia in 1793, Chisholm, a citizen of North 
Carolina, began action against the State of Georgia in the Supreme 
Court of the United States. That court interpreted the clause as apply¬ 
ing to cases in which a State is defendant, as well as to those in which 
it is plaintiff. The decision was received with disfavor by the States, 

1 “The Supreme Court of the United States,” Scribner's Magazine, Vol. 33: 
275, 276. 


160 THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 

and Congress proposed the Xlth Amendment to the Constitution, 
which was ratified in 1798 and is as follows : — 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to 
extend to any suit in law or equity , commenced or prosecuted against 
one of the United States , by citizens of another State , or by citizens or 
subjects of any foreign state. 

Original and Appellate Jurisdiction. — Clause 2. In all 

cases affecting Ambassadors , other public ministers and Con - 
suls, and those in which a State shall be party , the Supreme 
Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases 
before mentioned , the Supreme Court shall have appellate 
jurisdiction , both as to law and fact , with such exceptions , 
and under such regulations as the Congress shall make. 

The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in “all 
cases affecting Ambassadors, other public ministers, and 
Consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party.” 
Original jurisdiction means that these cases may be begun 
in the Supreme Court. Other cases are brought to the 
Supreme Court from the inferior United States courts or 
from the supreme courts of the States and Territories by 
appeal. In such cases the Supreme Court is said to have 
appellate jurisdiction. 

Jurisdiction of the Inferior Courts. — It is difficult in 
brief space to define minutely the province of each court. 
The following accounts, therefore, give only a general 
description: — 

The Circuit Courts of Appeals are given final jurisdiction in certain 
cases appealed to them from the District and from the Circuit Courts, 
such as those arising under the patent, revenue, and criminal laws, as 
well as admiralty and other cases in which the opposing parties to a 
suit are an alien and a citizen, or are citizens of different States. The 
Supreme Court has thus been partially relieved from an overcrowded 


THE NATIONAL JUDICIARY. 


161 


docket. But jurisdiction in these cases may be assumed by the Supreme 
Court if it desires to do so. 

The Circuit Courts have original jurisdiction in patent and copyright 
cases, and in cases brought by the United States against National 
banks, and they have exclusive jurisdiction in capital cases. “Jurisdic¬ 
tion of the District Courts embraces chiefly criminal cases, admiralty 
cases, bankruptcy proceedings, suits for penalties, and the like.” 

The Court of Claims “ shall hear and determine all claims founded 
upon any law of Congress, or upon any regulation of an executive de¬ 
partment, or upon any contract, express or implied, with the govern¬ 
ment of the United States, which may be suggested to it by a petition 
filed therein; and also all claims which may be referred to said Court 
by either House of Congress.” 1 

Trial by Jury.—The right of trial by jury in all criminal 
cases had been insisted upon by Englishmen for centuries 
prior to the formation of our Constitution. There were 
two branches to the system, the grand and the petit juries. 
Each performed the same duties as they do now. The 
Constitution provides in Section 2, Clause I, that 

The trial of all crimes , except in cases of impeachment , 
shall be by jury , and such trial shall be held in the State 
where the said crime shall have been committed; but 
when not committed within any State, the trial shall be 
at such place or places as the Congress may by law have 
directed. 

This clause was attacked by the opponents of the Con¬ 
stitution in the State conventions. It was believed that 
the Constitution did not furnish adequate safeguards against 
unjust prosecutions. Because of this agitation, Congress, 
in its first session, proposed Amendments V, VI, VII, and 
VIII, which were duly ratified by the several States. 

Amendment V. No person shall be held to answer for 

1 io Statutes at Large, 612. 

M 


162 THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 

a capital , or otherwise infamous crime , unless on a present¬ 
ment or indictment of a grand jury , etc} 

Authorities have had difficulty in giving an exact defini¬ 
tion of an infamous crime. That given by Judge Cooley 
is the most satisfactory. He says : “ But the punishment 
of the penitentiary must always be deemed infamous, and 
so must any punishment that involves the loss of civil or 
political privileges.” 

The Grand Jury. — A grand jury consists of from twelve 
to twenty-three men. They sit in secret, and no accusation 
can be made by them without the concurrence of at least 
twelve. An indictment is a written accusation of an offense 
drawn up by a prosecuting officer on behalf of the govern¬ 
ment and laid before the grand jury. “A presentment is 
an accusation by a grand jury of an offense upon their 
own observation and knowledge, or upon evidence before 
them, and without any bill of indictment laid before them 
at the suit of government.” 1 2 In the case of a presentment, 
the party accused cannot be held to trial until he has been 
indicted. After hearing the evidence, if the grand jury 
concludes that the accusation is not true, they write on 
the back of the bill, “ Not a true bill ” or “ Not found.” 
The accused, if held in custody, is then given his freedom, 
but he may be again indicted by another grand jury. If 
the grand jury decides that the accusation is true, they then 
write on the back of the bill, “A true bill” or “Found.” 
The indicted person must be held to answer the charges 
made against him. 

1 See Appendix A. 

2 Story, “Commentaries on the Constitution,” § 1784. 


THE NATIONAL JUDICIARY. 


163 

Rights of the Accused.—Amendment VI. In all crimi¬ 
nal prosecutions , the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy 
and public trial , by an impartial jury of the State and district 
wherein the crime shall have been committed , etc. (see Ap¬ 
pendix A ). 

Amendment VII. In suits at common lazv, where the 
value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars , the right of 
trial by jury shall be preserved , and no fact tried by a jury 
shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United 
States , than according to the rides of the common law. 

The accused must be given a public and speedy trial 
before an impartial jury, known as the petit jury, consist¬ 
ing of twelve men from the district wherein the crime was 
committed. The decision must be unanimous before a 
verdict can be rendered. The accused is given a copy of 
the indictment in which the nature of the accusation is 
clearly set forth and is granted time in which to prepare 
for his defense. Equally just and significant are the 
provisions that he shall be confronted by the witnesses 
against him, may compel the attendance of witnesses in 
his favor, and may employ counsel for his defense. In 
case he is not able to pay for his own counsel, the judge 
appoints one whose services are paid for out of the public 
treasury. If the verdict has been rendered by a jury and 
the judgment pronounced, the accused cannot be again 
brought to trial on the same charge. 

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES. 

1. What are the names of the members of the Supreme Court at 

present ? Congressional Directory. 

2. How large are the circuit and district in which your home is 

located? Who are the judges? Congressional Directory. 


1 64 THE national government. 

3. Under what conditions may a case be appealed from the Supreme 

Court of the State to the United States Supreme Court ? Bryce, 
American Commonwealth, I, 228-230 (232-234). 

4. How is the fact that conflicts between the authority of the Federal 

and the State Courts do not arise, accounted for ? Bryce, I, 
234-235 (238). 

5. Are the United States Courts influenced in their decisions by 

politics? Bryce, I, 259-261 (265-267). 

6. Define treason and the punishment therefor. Constitution, Art. 

Ill, Sec. 3, Clauses 1 and 2. See Government in State and 
Nation, 312, 313. 

7. Describe the influence of John Marshall as Chief Justice. 

(a.) John Marshall, American Statesmen Series, Chapters X and 
XI. 

(6.) Bryce, I, 261 (267). 

(c.) Lodge, “John Marshall, Statesman,” N. Am. Rev., 172: 
191-204. 

((?.) John Marshall, Atl. Mo., 87 : 328-341. 

8. Show how the development of our Constitution by interpretation 

has been brought about. Bryce, I, 366-375 (376-385). 

9. What has been the influence of the Supreme Court in the history 

of our Nation ? Scribner’s Mag., 33 : 273-284. 


CHAPTER XVII. 


TERRITORIES AND PUBLIC LANDS. 

The History of Territories.—The first Territories of the 
United States were formed in the region lying north of the 
Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River. Here several 
of the original States (viz., Massachusetts, Connecticut, 
New York, and Virginia) had had claims, which they 
ceded to the general government during the period of the 
Confederation. The Ordinance of 1787 was the instrument 
of government for the entire Northwest Territory until 
the adoption of the Constitution, when it was reenacted 
by the new Congress in 1791. In the years that followed, 
special acts were passed for the government of the different 
Territories that were erected where now we find the States 
of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. In 
like manner, the region lying south of Kentucky was 
ceded to the United States by the Carolinas and Georgia, 
and was then formed into Territories and governed by 
Congress. Next, the Louisiana Purchase, Florida, the 
Mexican Cession, and the Oregon Territory came under the 
control of Congress; a succession of Territories was thus 
created, the most of which have subsequently been ad¬ 
mitted into the Union as States. In the government of 
these Territories, Congress has acted in accordance with 
an important power granted to it by the Constitution 

165 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


166 

Article IV, Section 3, Clause 3. The Congress shall have 
power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regula¬ 
tions respecting the territory or other property belonging to 
the United States. 

The Government of Organized Territories.—Territories 
may be classified as (1) organized and (2) unorganized. 
Of the former we have at present Porto Rico, Hawaii, 
New Mexico, Arizona, and Oklahoma. 

The governing authorities in each are: (1) a governor, 
appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate ; 
(2) administrative officers—secretary, treasurer, auditor, 
attorney-general, adjutant-general, and superintendent of 
education, all appointed in the same way; (3) a legislature 
consisting of two houses, the members of which are elected 
by popular vote; (4) a system of courts in which the 
judges are appointed by the President and Senate. 

Relations between Territories and Congress. —A Territory 
is organized by an act of Congress which provides for 
these officers and prescribes their powers. The territorial 
legislature controls the internal affairs of the Territory; 
but its acts may be modified or entirely annulled by Con¬ 
gress. The people of a Territory have no voice in National 
affairs, but they elect a delegate to Congress, who may 
debate but not vote. 

Porto Rico. — The government of Porto Rico is different at some 
points from that of the other organized Territories. The upper house 
of its legislature is the Executive Council and consists of the adminis¬ 
trative officers of the Territory (secretary, treasurer, auditor, commis¬ 
sioner of the interior, attorney-general, and commissioner of education) 
and five other persons appointed by the President. Five of the eleven 
members of this Council must be natives of Porto Rico. The House 


TERRITORIES AND PUBLIC LANDS. 167 

of Delegates has thirty-five members, elected triennially by the voters. 
There is elected by the people a “ resident commissioner ” to the United 
States, who, unlike the delegates from other Territories, has no seat in 
Congress, but rather has official relations with the President. 

The Territory of Hawaii.—Hawaii was annexed to the United 
States in 1898, and its government was established by Congress in 
1900. The administrative officers in this Territory are appointed by 
the governor, instead of by the President. Voters in Hawaii must be 
able to read and write either the English or Hawaiian language. 

Unorganized Territories.—Alaska and Indian Territory are called 
unorganized territories. The former has a governor, an attorney- 
general, and a surveyor-general, together with a judiciary consisting of 
three judges. There is no legislature; Congress enacted, in 1900, a 
complete civil code for Alaska. 

Indian Territory was for many years divided into sections containing 
the governments of the “ five civilized tribes.” Each had an organized 
government, republican in form, under a written constitution. The 
legislatures, courts, and civil processes resembled very closely those of 
the State governments. These tribal governments have been superseded 
by National authority. A complete change is being brought about in 
the matter of landholding. Under the Indian governments the lands 
were owned in common, and none but Indians could reside there; but 
white people came into the Territory and obtained leases and claims to 
land, until at the present time more than three-fourths of the 400,000 
inhabitants are whites. Under a law of 1893, the Dawes Commission 
has been at work upon a plan for allotting the land of the Territory to 
the Indians. 1 When this has been done, the land will be owned “ in 
severalty,” as in other parts of the country. 

Our Government in the Philippine Islands. — The Philippines con¬ 
stitute the largest part of “ our insular possessions,” and are not classed 
as Territories. The word “ colonies ” better expresses their relations to 
the United States. They are completely subject to the control of Con¬ 
gress. During the war with Spain and after it, until the 57th Congress 
passed the Philippine Civil Government Law in 1902, these islands were 
under the military government of the United States. The President, 
as the head of our military system, had supreme authority over these 

1 Of the 70,000 Indians but 12,000 or 15,000 are “full bloods.” About 
15,000 negroes, who were formerly slaves, will also receive shares of the land. 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


168 

possessions; and he exercised his powers through the commanding 
general in the islands and through the Philippine Commission, a body 
of five men, of which Governor Taft was president. This commission 
was given authority to establish civil government in the pacified regions 
of the islands. 

In accordance with this policy, the government in the cities and in 
the less disturbed portions of the islands was in reality civil government, 
in which the people had some share, many months before Congress 
assumed responsibility by the passage of the Civil Government Law, 
in July, 1902. This law provides for the continuance of the Philippine 
Commission and the later establishment of a legislative body which is 
to consist of two houses. The upper branch of this Assembly will consist 
of members appointed by the United States government; the members 
of the lower house will be elected by voters who have a certain amount of 
property and can speak English or Spanish. This Assembly will not 
be established, however, until two years after a census, which this law 
provides for, has been taken. The upper house of this future Philip¬ 
pine legislature will have greater powers than the lower branch ; and, of 
course, all acts of the assembly will be subject to veto by the American 
government. 

Besides numerous other small islands the United States possesses 
Tutuila in the Samoan group, Guam, and Wake Island. These are 
governed directly by the naval authorities of the government. 

Political Relations with Cuba. — Cuba was under the control of our 
military authority between the time when our troops occupied the island, 
during the Spanish-American War, and the announcement of its inde¬ 
pendence in May, 1902. Although Cuba is now an independent repub¬ 
lic, it is considered as a “ protectorate ” of the United States, and is 
subject to the influence of this Nation in its dealings with other nations. 

The Admission of Territories to Statehood. — We have so 
far considered the Territories as in a condition of greater 
or less dependence upon the National government. It has 
always been the policy of the United States to consider 
statehood as the ultimate destiny of its Territories . 1 That 
the power to admit States into the Union belongs exclu- 

1 Now that we have possessions containing peoples of other races, the ques¬ 
tion arises, shall Porto Rico, Hawaii, and the Philippines ultimately become 
States? 


TERRITORIES AND PUBLIC LANDS. 169 

sively to Congress is evident from the language of the 
Constitution. 

Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1 New States may be ad¬ 
mitted by the Congress into this Union ; but no new State 
shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any 
other State ; nor any State be formed by the junction of two 
or more States or parts of States , without the consent of the 
legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Con¬ 
gress. 

Territories first apply for admission to the Union, and 
then either of two processes may follow: (1) Congress 
passes an enabling act authorizing the Territory to frame a 
constitution, which is submitted to Congress for approval. 
(2) Frequently, the Territory frames its constitution with¬ 
out waiting for the enabling act; with this in its hand the 
Territory then applies to Congress for admission. In either 
case, before giving its approval to the admission of a State, 
Congress must see that the constitution submitted contains 
nothing that is inconsistent with a republican form of gov¬ 
ernment. 

Our Public Land Policy. — In the Territories which lay 
between the Alleghany Mountains and the Mississippi 
River, and in all the acquisitions that have since been 
made, the unoccupied 1 lands became the property of the 
United States. So the National government became the 
possessor of many millions of acres of land, and it still 
holds immense tracts in the Western States and in its dis- 

1 Exceptions to this statement must be made to cover certain lands reserved 
by some of the original States that ceded their claims to the United States; 
as, for instance, the Western Reserve in Ohio retained by Connecticut, and 
other lands in the same State retained by Virginia. 


170 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


tant possessions. Upon the admission of a Territory as a 
State, the ownership of its public lands does not pass to 
the new State, but remains with the National government. 
The latter has followed a most liberal policy in dealing 
with its lands, (i) It has granted great amounts to the 
States. The school lands (see p. 240) which are the 
basis of the common school funds in the Western States 
were acquired in this way. (2) Many thousands of square 
miles have been granted to railroad companies as aid in 
the construction of their lines. These lands are still 
being purchased at low rates by settlers in the West. 
(3) Under various laws, settlers acquire farms from the 
government almost free of cost. 1 (4) Millions of acres 
are still held by the government, subject to sale at low 
prices. 

At present the larger part of the public lands of the 
United States are arid; that is, they cannot be cultivated 
without irrigation. By a law of 1902, the proceeds re¬ 
ceived from the sale of public lands in certain Western 
States and Territories will be expended by the National 
government in the construction of irrigation works. This 
law is destined to have a great influence upon the future 
of our Western States. 

The National System of Survey. — In the thirteen original 
States there was no uniform system of land survey, but 
each tract of land was surveyed as necessity required, 
generally after settlement had been made upon it. The 
tracts were of very irregular shapes. The boundary lines, 
usually starting from some natural object, were measured 

1 See the provisions of the homestead law, “ Government in State and 
Nation,” p. 333. 


TERRITORIES AND PUBLIC LANDS. 171 

by rods or chains, running in certain directions as ascer¬ 
tained by the use of the compass. This method of survey 
is still in use in the Eastern States. According to a law of 
1785, a uniform system of “rectangular survey” was ap¬ 
plied to all lands belonging to the United States. This 
survey has preceded settlers, and has to some extent in¬ 
fluenced the method of settlement and the nature of local 



government throughout the West. The lands surveyed 
have been divided into townships six miles square. For 
the boundaries of townships the law requires the use of 
north-and-south and east-and-west lines. To secure start¬ 
ing points from which to run these lines, it was necessary 
to designate certain meridians as Principal Meridians and 
certain parallels as Base Lines. 























172 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


Method of Land Description. —The map indicates the loca¬ 
tion of Principal Meridians and Base Lines in the States 
north of the Ohio River. Starting, then, from any Prin¬ 
cipal Meridian, the tier of townships directly east is called 
Range I; the other ranges are numbered east and west of 
that meridian. Counting also from the Base Line, the 
townships are numbered 1, 2, 3, etc., both north and south. 
It thus becomes possible to locate precisely any particular 
township by a simple description: e.g. y township 5 north, 
Range VIII east of the first Principal Meridian. 


Figure i. 



1 

1 





I 

1 






7 

sS 









6 

.2 







Co 

-recti 

5 

m 

§ 

Line 


, 






k 

.2* 









3 

k 









£ 







IV 

Ill 

n 

v! 

B.I 

E. 

a 

hi 

IV 



Base 


JLine 


The convergence of meridians causes the townships to 
become less than six miles from east to west as the survey 
proceeds northward from any Base Line. This necessitates 
the running of standard parallel lines, or correction lines, at 
frequent intervals, to be used as new Base Lines (Figure 1). 

To still further facilitate the sale and description of 
lands, the law provides for exact methods of subdividing 
































TERRITORIES AND PUBLIC LANDS. 


173 


the township into sections, one mile square, numbered as 
in Figure 2. 

Each section is subdivided into rectangular tracts known 
as halves, quarters, half-quarters, and quarter-quarters. 
The designations of these divisions are by abbreviations and 
fractions. (See Figure 3.) The number of acres in each 
tract is easily computed. 

The rectangular system of survey has been a great aid 
in the subdivision and location of farm lands ; it greatly 


Figure 2. — Six Miles Square. 


G 

5 

4 

3 

2 

1 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

17 

16 

15 

14 

13 

13 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

30 

20 

28 

27 

2G 

25 

31 

32 

33 

34 

35 

36 


Figure 3. — One 
Mile Square. 


NW i 


SE^ 

NE£ 

Si 


reduces the number of boundary disputes, it determines 
very largely the location of country roads. Moreover, the 
Congressional township has become, in a great many in¬ 
stances, the area within which the political township or 
town has been organized. This town, however, need not 
coincide with the Congressional township; it may be 
greater or smaller in area. 





























17 4 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES. 

1. For the history of land cessions, references are given in Govern¬ 

ment in State and Nation, p. 334, question 1. 

2. The topics treated in this chapter are discussed in Harrison, This 

Country of Ours, pp. 270-279. 

3. Government in the Philippines, Arena, 24: 281-292. An article by 

Governor Taft on this subject, Outlook, 7: 305-311. The 
Government of our new possessions, Outlook, 64: 353-356, 
Rev. of R’s, 24 : 697-700. 

4. The Government of Porto Rico, N. Am. Rev. 174: 159-174; Rev. 

of R’s 21: 517-519. 

5. The Government of Indian Territory, Forum, 28: 737-740; 34: 

466-480; Rev. of R’s, 23: 451-458. Garland, The Red Men’s 
Present Needs, N. Am. Rev., 174: 479-488. 

6. Irrigation in the West, Forum, 32: 573-581; 33: 366-371; N. 

Am. Rev., 174: 245-258; Outlook, 70: 907-910; R. of R’s, 25: 
75-80; 401-402. 


CHAPTER XVIII. 


AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

Methods of amending the Constitution. — We have al¬ 
ready considered the effect of amendments on some 
of the original clauses. 1 It now remains to consider, 
briefly, the methods of amending the Constitution and a 
few other provisions found in the amendments. Article V 
provides for amendments as follows : — 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall 
deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Con¬ 
stitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two- 
thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for pro¬ 
posing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to 
all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when 
ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several 
States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one 
or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the 
Congress ; provided that no amendment which may be made 
prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall 
in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth 
section of the first article; and that no State, without its 
consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the 
Senate. 

Thus, amendments may be proposed in either of two 

1 For Amendment XI, see pp. 159-160; for Amendment XII, see p. 120. 

175 


iy6 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


ways : by a vote of two-thirds of both houses of Congress; 
or by a National convention called by Congress for that 
purpose on the application of two-thirds of the State 
Legislatures. The convention method has never been 
used in proposing amendments to this Constitution. 

Amendments may also be ratified in two ways: by the 
Legislatures in three-fourths of the several States; or by 
conventions in three-fourths thereof. Congress has always 
selected the first of these methods. 

Amending the Constitution Difficult. — That it is difficult 
to amend the Constitution may be seen when we consider 
that some two thousand amendments have been proposed 
in an official way. During a single session of the 57th Con¬ 
gress, fifty amendments, on twenty different phases of gov¬ 
ernment, were proposed in one or other of the houses 
of Congress. 

Amendment XIII. — The purpose of the first ten amend¬ 
ments have already been noted, on p. 114. 

The XHIth, XIVth, and XVth amendments were the 
results of negro slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation 
granted freedom to all of the slaves in the States then in 
rebellion. There were some States, however, as Ken¬ 
tucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, where slavery might still 
exist legally. In order to be rid of this institution alto¬ 
gether, Congress proposed the XHIth Amendment to the 
Constitution, which is as follows : — 

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude , except as a pun¬ 
ishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly 
convicted , shall exist within the United States , or any place 
subject to their jurisdiction. 


AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 177 

Congress shall have poiver to enforce this article by ap¬ 
propriate legislation. 

It was declared a part of the Constitution, December 18, 
1865. 

Amendment XIV. — This amendment was proposed by 
Congress, June 16, 1866, as a part of the general plan 
for reconstruction. The Southern States were not to 
be regarded as a part of the Union until they should 
ratify it. The entire amendment, given in Appendix A, 
should be read. Sections 1 and 2, however, contain the 
most important provisions. Section 1 has already been 
partially discussed on p. 98, under the question, “ Who 
are citizens ? ” Section 2 has also been considered on 
p. 53, in connection with the apportionment of repre¬ 
sentatives. 

Congress has at different times removed the disabilities 
from certain of the classes mentioned in Section 3. Finally, 
an act of June 6, 1898, removed the last disability imposed 
by this section. 

Amendment XV. — In order to secure full political rights 
for the negroes, the XVth Amendment was passed, as indi¬ 
cated on p. 51. 

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States , or by any 
State y on account of race , colory or previous condition of 
servitude. 

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 


i;8 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES. 

1. What facts can be given showing the difficulty of amending the 

Articles of Confederation ? Fiske, Critical Period, 218-220. 

2. Is it now considered difficult to amend the Constitution ? Bryce, 

American Commonwealth, I, 359-362 (368-371). 

3. What were the conditions under which the Emancipation Procla¬ 

mation was issued ? Wilson, Division and Reunion, 226-228. 

4. Was the adoption of the XVth Amendment a wise policy? 


CHAPTER XIX. 


THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

Kinds of Governments. — It is customary to classify the 
governments of the world under two heads : (i) Republics, 
(2) Monarchies. The real nature of our Republic may be 
made more apparent by a comparison of our system with 
that of other republics, and with the governments of certain 
great monarchies. 

Our Federal Republic. — It has been emphasized in the 
course of our study that the States are vital parts in the 
political system which we call the Republic of the United 
States. The States are not mere administrative divisions 
of the Nation; they do not stand in the same relation to 
the National Government that counties bear to the State. 
They do not derive their powers from the National Govern¬ 
ment; nor, on the other hand, does the latter derive its 
powers from the States. The source of power for both is 
the same — “ the people themselves, as an organized body 
politic.” The United States is, then, a Federal Republic. 
It is essential to understand that, in the division of powers 
between States and Nation, the latter is sovereign over the 
matters that are placed within its jurisdiction ; but it is a 
feature of our system no less essential (though less clearly 
understood by the people) that the States are as completely 
sovereign over matters that lie within their control. 

179 


i8o 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


France a Centralized Republic. — In France we find an 
entirely different type of republic — not federal, but cen¬ 
tralized. France is divided into eighty-six departments, 
which correspond in some respects to our States. But in 
their relation to the central government the difference is 
very striking; for the departments are merely administra¬ 
tive divisions of the central government. They have no 
original and no sovereign powers of government. The 
chief authority in each department is a prefect, who is ap¬ 
pointed by the Ministry of France (the central executive 
body) and is responsible to it. There is a legislative body 
in each department, called the general council, but the 
powers of this body are very much restricted. 

The national government of France exercises legislative 
authority upon many subjects in the departments, and it 
administers the laws directly. Consequently, the people’s 
powers of local self-government are very much less exten¬ 
sive than those enjoyed by the people in the United States. 
There result in France much greater uniformity of legis¬ 
lation and more effective administration; while in many 
parts of the United States local self-government results 
in corrupt laws and wasteful administration. But we 
believe that the people will become educated in the use 
of political power if the responsibility for its use rests 
upon them, rather than upon some central authority. 

The Swiss Republic. — An example of a federal repub¬ 
lic is the government of Switzerland. Here the cantons 
correspond to our States, and each canton has control 
over its own local affairs, without interference from the 
federal government. The chief features of the French 


THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD. 


8 l 


and the Swiss governments are indicated in the accom¬ 
panying outline : 1 — 


United States 

Switzerland 

France 

Congress 

Federal Assembly 

The Chambers 

Senate 

State Council 

Senate 

Two members from 

Two members from 

300 members elected 

each State 

each canton 

by an electoral col¬ 


• 

lege in each depart¬ 
ment 

Six years 



House of Repre¬ 

National Council 

Chamber of Deputies 

sentatives 



386 members elected 

147 members elected 

584 deputies elected 

by people 

by people 

by people 

Two years 

Three years 

Four years 

President 

President 

President 

Elected by electors, 

Elected by Federal 

Elected by National 

i.e. by the people 

Assembly 

Assembly; i.e. Sen¬ 

of the States 


ate and Chamber 
of Deputies in joint 
session 

Four years 

One year 

Seven years 

Cabinet 

Federal Council 

Ministry 

Nine members ap¬ 

Seven members 

Twelve members ap¬ 

pointed by Presi¬ 

elected by Federal 

pointed by Presi¬ 

dent and Senate 

Assembly 

dent 


Constitutional Monarchies. — The monarchies of Europe 
are classified as (i) constitutional and (2) absolute, Russia 
and Turkey being the only ones of the latter class. In 
constitutional monarchies the ruler holds his position by 
heredity, but there exists also a constitution, which defines 

1 Among the South American republics, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentine 
Republic are federal in nature, like the United States and Switzerland. 









182 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


the distribution of powers among the branches that com¬ 
pose the government and fixes the limits of authority vested 
in each. The British constitution is partly written, as 
found in the great historical documents of English history, 
such as Magna Charta (1215), the Petition of Right (1628), 
and the Bill of Rights (1689 ) 1 ; and partly unwritten, con¬ 
sisting of precedents and customs which are recognized as 
authoritative. The constitutions of the other monarchies 
of Europe were made during the nineteenth century, and 
consequently they are younger than that of the United 
States. 

In all the constitutional monarchies we find legislative 
bodies similar to our Congress. In every case the lower 
house is elected by the voters; 2 in England, the Austrian 
Empire, Italy, and Spain, a number of the members of the 
upper house hold their position by hereditary right. In 
respect to legislation, therefore, the constitutional mon¬ 
archies are all more or less republican in principle; that 
is, they all recognize the supreme authority of the people 
acting through their representatives. 

The Cabinet System of Government. — In the relations 
existing between their legislative and executive depart¬ 
ments, the European governments differ considerably from 
that of the United States. In our government we find, 
theoretically at least, that these departments are separated; 
in the European governments there is a close interdepend¬ 
ence of the legislative and executive branches, through 
some form of “cabinet responsibility.” This “cabinet 
system ” of government is found in the republics as well as 

1 Compare the “ Bill of Rights ” in our Constitution; see pp. 256-257. 

2 Property qualifications for suffrage are common in European countries. 


THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD. 


183 


in the constitutional monarchies of Europe, and in the 
self-governing British possessions, such as Canada and the 
Australian colonies . 1 The difference between the Con¬ 
gressional and the cabinet systems is greater in appearance 
than in reality ; for in the United States the President 
and his Cabinet exert considerable influence upon legisla¬ 
tion. 


England 

Germany 

Monarch — hereditary in the line 
fixed by Parliament 

Emperor—hereditary 

King of Prussia 

Cabinet 

Nineteen members 2 chosen by 
the Prime Minister 

Ministry 

Eight ministers, Chancellor at 
the head, appointed by the 
Emperor 

Parliament 

Limit of term, seven years 

Parliament 

Term, five years 

House of Lords 

586 members, holding seats 
(1) by heredity, (2) by 
appointment by Crown, 

(3) by election 3 

Bundesrath or General Council 

58 members appointed by the 
German States 

House of Commons 

670 members elected by the 
people of England, Scot¬ 
land, and Ireland 

Reichstag or Diet of the Realm 
397 members elected by the 
people 


1 This system finds its best illustration in the English government, of which 
a brief description will be found in “ Government in State and Nation,” pp. 
178-179. For references, see questions 12, 15, and'16, p. 181. 

2 The number of members in the Ministries of England and Germany 
varies. 

3 Irish peers are elected for life, and Scottish peers are elected for the dura¬ 
tion of a Parliament. 








1S4 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 


The Government of Russia. — “ The government of Rus¬ 
sia is an absolute hereditary monarchy. The whole legis¬ 
lative, executive, and judicial power is united in the Czar, 
whose will alone is law. There are, however, certain rules 
of government which the sovereigns of the present reign¬ 
ing house have acknowledged as binding.” 1 There are 
four great councils which assist the emperor in the govern¬ 
ment of Russia. The country is divided into administra¬ 
tive districts, which are presided over by representatives of 
the Emperor and have supreme civil and military authority. 
The people of Russia, have, however, some measure of 
local self-government. This is seen in the communes, 
where the people ( i.e ., the householders) hold general 
meetings for the purpose of discussing local affairs and 
electing officers. 

The Form and the Spirit of Government. — The study of 
other governments and the comparison of them with our 
own will teach us that the virtue of a government resides, 
not in its framework, but in its spirit. A government may 
be monarchical in form and republican in its practical 
workings. In England and in others of the European 
monarchies, the will of the people is the law of the land. 
On the other hand, a government may be republican in 
form, and very unrepublican in its methods of operation. 
There are cities and States in our country where one man, 
the political boss, or a group of men, the political machine, 
dictates the course of legislation and controls the adminis¬ 
tration of the law. Here we find, in reality, not republican 
governments, but despotisms or oligarchies. 


1 “ Statesman’s Year Book,” 1902, p. 976. 


THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD. 


185 


The final test of a government is found in the responsive¬ 
ness of the governing authorities to the will of the majority 
of the people. Wherever republican institutions are found, 
whether in republics or in monarchies, the people may 
rule if they will. Monarchical and aristocratic institutions 
do not in our time stand long in opposition to a determined 
public opinion; and, on the other hand, a framework 
of republican institutions will not insure the execution of 
the popular will. This can only be secured where high- 
minded citizens are vigilant in the performance of their 
political duties. 

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES. 

1. The relations of nations are governed by the rules of international 

law, Government in State and Nation, 352-354. 

2. What progress has been made in the direction of settling disputes 

between nations by arbitration instead of by war ? Government 
in State and Nation, 354 ~ 357 - Forum, 31: 197-208; Rev. of 
R’s, 21: 51-55. 


PART III. 

STATE GOVERNMENTS. 


CHAPTER XX. 

THE ORIGIN OF STATE GOVERNMENTS. 

The First States. — In the study of United States his¬ 
tory, we learn how the thirteen English colonies were 
planted, and how they became populous and finally threw 
off the authority of the mother-country. The period of 
the Revolution, when independence was secured, is also 
the period when the colonies transformed themselves into 
States. This change was not a radical one, for each State 
government was modeled closely upon the colonial govern¬ 
ment that was superseded. We must study the colonial 
governments, then, to find the origin of the systems estab¬ 
lished in the thirteen original States. These States in turn 
influenced the forms of government adopted by the new 
States as they were admitted into the Union. 

The New States of the West. — As in local, so in State 
government, the settlers of the West carried with them the 
ideas to which they had been accustomed in the sections 
from which they migrated. Doubtless, too, the people of 
the West have been much influenced in the formation 

186 


THE ORIGIN OF STATE GOVERNMENTS. 187 

of their governments by the example of neighboring com¬ 
munities and by the model set for them by the United 
States government. 

The colonial governments had many features in common ; 
for they embodied the political traditions of the mother- 
country. There were in each colony legislative, executive, 
and judicial departments. 

Colonial Assemblies. — The most noticeable feature of 
these governments is the assembly which existed in every 
colony and was in every case elected by the people. Here 
we find the principle of representative government, which 
had been recognized in England as essential to politi¬ 
cal liberty, cherished and maintained by Englishmen in 
America. The colonial assemblies had various names. In 
Virginia the members of the House of Burgesses were 
elected from the counties; in Massachusetts deputies were 
elected to the General Court from the towns. 

Governors of the Colonies.—There was less uniformity 
in the executive departments of the colonies, for, although 
each had a governor, these officers obtained their positions 
in three different ways. At the time of the Revolution, 
the governors of eight colonies were appointed by the 
King of England; the governors of Pennsylvania, Mary¬ 
land, and Delaware were appointed by the proprietors of 
those colonies; and the governors of the two remaining 
colonies — Rhode Island and Connecticut — were elected 
by the voters in accordance with the provisions of their 
charters. Because of these differences, we classify 
colonial governments as (1) Royal, (2) Proprietary, and 
(3) Charter. In several colonies the governor was assisted 


188 


STATE GOVERNMENTS. 


by a council, and this body was sometimes the upper house 
of the colonial legislature. 

In these colonial institutions, then, we find the model for 
our present State governments, with their governors, leg¬ 
islatures, and judicial officers. Since the governors in 
most colonies represented the authority of the Crown, 
while the assemblies represented the people, disputes as 
to the authority of each were common. On the whole, 
the assemblies succeeded very well in maintaining their 
right to control the most important colonial affairs, in¬ 
cluding the raising of taxes. We find in these contests 
between royal governors and popular assemblies that 
spirit of free government which finally inspired the revolt 
against the mother-country. 

Colonial Charters. — In our early history we learn that 
many of the colonies were founded on the basis of charters, 
granted by royal authority. A charter contained a grant 
of land to an individual or to a company, and also a plan for 
the government of the colony. It was regarded as a sort 
of fundamental law to which the laws of the assembly and 
the orders of the governor must conform. If any of these 
laws or orders was considered to be in violation of the 
charter, the case was appealed to the colonial courts, or to 
the English government, and as a result, the act might 
be set aside by these authorities. Some colonies, Virginia, 
for example, lost their charters; but even then, the funda¬ 
mental ideas of their colonial governments, derived chiefly 
from these charters, were regarded as established, and 
not subject to change. So in every colony there grew up 
the idea of a government based on fixed principles, em- 


THE ORIGIN OF STATE GOVERNMENTS. 189 

bodied in charters, in written orders, or in well-established 
customs. 

Origin of State Constitutions. — In these facts we find 
the explanation of the State constitutions that were 
adopted during the period of the Revolution. When, by 
the advice of the Continental Congress, the authority of 
the English government was thrown off, it seemed necessary 
for each colony to make a re-statement of its plan of gov¬ 
ernment, of the authority vested in each department, and 
of the fundamental principles that were to be the guide of 
all political action in the new States. Connecticut and 
Rhode Island preserved their charters as- constitutions; 
the former until 1818, and the latter until 1842; in each 
of the other States a constitution was adopted between the 
years 1776 and 1784. 

How Constitutions are Formed. — Since our present 
National government went into operation (1789) thirty-two 
new States have been added to the original thirteen, and 
each has adopted a constitution as the basis of government. 
A State constitution is framed by a convention which is 
elected by the voters for that purpose. In most cases, 
after the completion of its work the convention submits 
the document to the voters for acceptance or rejection. 

The Contents of a State Constitution. — The constitution 
contains (1) a Bill of Rights stating the most important 
principles that should be recognized by any free govern¬ 
ment ; (2) an outline of the frame of government with its 
three departments; and (3) miscellaneous provisions, often 
very numerous, stating those features of the State govern- 


STATE GOVERNMENTS. 


190 

ment which are regarded as of so much importance that 
they should not be changed by the ordinary process of 
enacting a law. The changing of a constitutional pro¬ 
vision by amendment must include not only its approval 
by the legislature (sometimes two legislatures in succes¬ 
sion must approve it), but also its ratification by vote of 
the people. 

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS AND REFERENCES 

1. Is your State one of the original thirteen States ? If so, how has 

its government been changed since the adoption of the first 

constitution ? 

2. If yours is one of the Western States, how has the organization 

of its government been influenced? 

3. How may your constitution be amended? 

4. On the origin of State governments, see Thwaites, The Colonies, 

58-63, 192-193, 271-277; Fisher, The Colonial Era, 208-211; 

Hart, Formation of the Union, 5-10, 13-17, 80-81 ; Channing, 

The United States of America, 26-36, 84-85 ; Sloane, French 

War and Revolution, 10-12. 

5. How are State constitutions amended? Bryce, Vol. I, 419-420 

(433-435) j Ashley, The American Federal State, 566-571. 

6. Are State constitutions changed frequently? Bryce, Vol. I, 440- 

442 (456-458). 

7. Why are so many miscellaneous provisions included in Bills of 

Rights? Bryce, Vol. I, 426-428 (442-444). 


CHAPTER XXI. 


STATE LEGISLATURES. 

The State Capital. — The capital city of a State is 
usually the center of its political life. This is especially 
true when the capital is also the metropolis, as in the case 
of Boston, or Indianapolis. In most cases, however, the 
seat of government is located in a smaller city. Here is 
the capitol building, where the legislature meets in its reg¬ 
ular sessions to enact laws for the State. 

Legislatures are Representative Bodies. — A legislature 
is a most interesting body. In it sit the men whom the 
voters have selected to act for them in the important 
business of law-making. The legislators should therefore 
represent accurately the general opinion of the majority 
in the different sections of the State. Very often this 
theory is not realized in practice; for there are obstacles 
as we shall see, that stand in the way of exact representa¬ 
tion. 

Legislatures 1 vary greatly in size, the numbers ranging 
from fifty in Oregon to four hundred in New Hampshire. 
There are always two houses, one called the senate, and 
the other the house of representatives, or assembly. The 

latter contains the larger number of members. In some 

* 

1 In many States the term “ General Assembly ” is used. 


192 


STATE GOVERNMENTS. 


cases the terms of members of the two houses are the 
same, but more frequently the senators have longer terms 
than the representatives or assemblymen. Each house 
has a presiding officer. In the lower house a speaker is 
elected, while the lieutenant-governor is president of the 
senate in most States. There are, besides, clerks, the 
sergeant-at-arms, door-keepers, and other officers. 

Salaries and Sessions. — Members of legislatures are 
paid regular salaries; sometimes they receive a regular 
amount per day, or it may be a certain amount for each 
session or per year. In nearly every State sessions of the 
legislature occur biennially, only six States 1 having annual 
sessions. 

Legislative Districts. — Members of legislatures are 
elected from districts into which the State is divided. 
There are generally two sets of districts for the members 
of the two houses, respectively. In the formation of the 
districts, which is the work of the legislature, certain rules 
must be followed. These rules concerning apportionment 
may be prescribed in the State constitution. One such 
rule requires that the districts shall be as nearly uniform 
in population as practicable. The shifting of population in 
the course of years destroys the equality of districts in this 
respect, and so States are re-apportioned periodically; 
that is, new districts are made after a census has been 
taken. Districts are also supposed to be compact and 
convenient in shape. Sometimes the district lines are 
purposely arranged so that one political party will have the 

1 These are Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, South 
Carolina, and Georgia. 


STATE LEGISLATURES. 


93 


greatest number of votes in a majority of the districts. 
When this is done in violation of the rules governing 
apportionments, we have a “ gerrymander.” This is one 
way in which unfair representation of the people in the 
legislature may come about. 

The Introduction of Bills. — All meetings organized for 
the transaction of business are governed by certain rules 
of parliamentary practice. Legislatures adopt such rules, 
and these contain detailed regulations which must be fol¬ 
lowed in the enactment of laws. Any person may propose 
the ideas for a new law, and may put them into the pre¬ 
scribed form of a “bill”; but only a member of the legis¬ 
lature may introduce the bill. This is the first step in the 
process of its passage. The bill is no sooner introduced 
than it is referred to a committee , and this step requires 
some explanation. 

Why Committees are Necessary. — When a legislative 
body is composed of a large number of members, and 
when a great amount of business is presented for its con¬ 
sideration, it becomes necessary to divide the work among 
groups of members, called committees. This is because it 
is impossible for every member to give time and attention 
to every item of business. So in the houses of a legisla¬ 
ture we have a large number of committees. To each are 
referred bills on certain subjects. There are committees 
on the appropriation of money, on taxes, railroads, educa¬ 
tion, public buildings, and on a great many other subjects. 
Committees hold sessions which are secret, unless they call 
in outsiders to give testimony or to make arguments relat¬ 
ing to bills that are before them for consideration. After 


194 


STATE GOVERNMENTS. 


considering a bill, the committee is supposed to report to 
the house its judgment in the matter. 

The Work of a Committee. — A committee has great power over 
the bills given into its charge; it may change them or substitute a new 
bill for any of them. It may fail to take any action whatever upon a 
certain bill, and so in reality determine that it shall not become a law. 
The house may, however, order the committee to report the bill. In each 
case, when it reports a bill, the committee recommends that it should 
or should not pass. In most cases this recommendation is accepted by 
the house without question; for there are so many bills that only the 
most important can receive attention during the course of the session. 
A few bills, then, are fully debated and attract public notice; the great 
majority become laws without having received much consideration ex¬ 
cept such as was given them by the committees. 

The Passage of a Bill. — When a bill has passed one 
house of a legislature, it is sent to the other. Here it 
goes through the same process as before. It may be 
amended by this house, then it must-be returned to the 
house where it was introduced and be repassed in its new 
form before going farther. 

Conference Committees. — If the two houses cannot agree 
upon the details of a bill, a conference committee may be 
appointed, composed of members from both of them. This 
committee endeavors to arrive at a compromise which will 
be acceptable to both houses. Generally, the result reached 
by the conference committee is accepted without further 
debate, and the bill is then passed. 

Methods of Voting.—There are several methods of vot¬ 
ing upon the passage of a bill, (i) If a vote is taken “by 
acclamation,” the members answer in unison “ aye ” or 
“no.” (2) A rising vote may be called for, if the result is 


STATE LEGISLATURES. 


195 


in doubt, and then the members voting on each side must 
be counted. (3) Upon the passage of important bills, 
State constitutions provide that the vote shall be by “ yeas 
and nays ”; or a request from a certain number of mem¬ 
bers may cause the vote to be taken in this way. Then 
each member’s name is called, and he responds by giving 
his vote. This is made a matter of record in the journal 
of the house, so that the public may know the attitude of 
every member on the bill. Since the latter generally wish 
to retain the good opinion of their constituents, the taking 
of votes by this method may serve as a check upon unwise 
legislation. 

The Governors Approval or Veto. — Having passed both 
houses by majority votes, the bill is next sent to the gov¬ 
ernor for his signature. In all but three States (Ohio, 
North Carolina, and Rhode Island), if the governor dis¬ 
approves of the bill, he may veto it. In that case he 
returns it to the house where it originated, with his reasons 
for refusing his signature. If this house repasses the bill 
by a two-thirds majority, it is sent to the other house, and 
if it receives a similar vote here, it becomes a law without 
the governor’s signature. 

The Lobby in Legislatures. — This, in general, is the 
way in which laws are enacted. We must not think that 
bills have their origin in the common opinion of the entire 
body of legislators, or even in that of a majority of them. 
In every case a certain person is interested in putting a 
bill into form, introducing it, and persuading others to vote 
for it. Whether a bill receives any attention, therefore, 


196 


STATE GOVERNMENTS. 


depends as much upon the activity and skill of its pro¬ 
moters as it does upon the merits of the measure. By far 
the greater part of the work that is necessary to bring 
about the enactment of a law must be done outside of the 
legislative sessions, either in the committee rooms, or in 
the lobbies of the capitol, or at the hotels and other places 
where members congregate. It is the personal solicitation 
for votes that really determines whether a bill shall pass, 
rather than the public debates. Work of this nature, either 
for or against a pending bill, is called “lobbying.” “The 
lobby ” is composed of persons, not members of the legis¬ 
lature, who use their influence during a session to bring 
about the passage or the defeat of a bill. 

Why Bad Laws are Enacted. — Now, the facts above 
stated apply to the passage of both good and bad meas¬ 
ures. Some of the latter kind become laws because mem¬ 
bers have been offered inducements to vote for them. 
These inducements may be in the form of political advan¬ 
tages and influence to be used in favor of these members ; 
or appointments to positions for members or their friends; 
or money itself may be paid for votes. Because so many 
corrupt means are employed to obtain votes, the term 
“ lobbyist ” has taken on a bad meaning. Laws have been 
enacted which are intended to check the evils of lobbying; 
but these are not very efficient. The only safeguard 
against bad laws will be found in the election to our legis¬ 
latures of men who cannot be bribed. 

Another source of evil legislation is the haste with 
which laws are sometimes passed. Toward the end of a 
session, especially, bills are voted upon without adequate 


STATE LEGISLATURES. 


197 

time and attention being devoted to them. As a conse¬ 
quence, bad measures slip through unnoticed. 

Again, members of legislatures may be induced to vote 
for unwise bills merely .because they are favored by one 
political party or the other. When a member “ votes with 
the party ” under all circumstances, he surrenders his inde¬ 
pendence and becomes a part of the “ political machine ” 
regardless of the people’s interests. 

Restrictions upon Legislatures. — Probably the most 
fruitful source of bad laws is the greed that is displayed 
by many persons who have political influence.- The public 
treasury is regarded by them as legitimate plunder, and 
numberless schemes are originated for getting money 
from it without rendering to the State a fair return. Con¬ 
sequently, constitutions contain restrictions upon the en¬ 
actment of laws relating to finances. In many other ways 
State legislatures are restricted in the subjects and the 
manner of legislation. Evidently this is necessary because 
the representatives of the people sometimes betray public 
interests. It is exceedingly desirable, therefore, that citi¬ 
zens should be intelligent in political matters and watchful 
in guarding their rights. But, we repeat, the surest way 
to have good laws is to elect good men to our legislatures. 

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS. 

For the study of your State legislature : — 

1. Learn the number of members in each house ; the time of their 

election ; their terms and salaries. What officers has each 
house ? 

2. When was the last apportionment made? In what districts do 

you live ? Compare their size and population with other districts. 


198 STATE GOVERNMENTS. 

3. The Blue Book or Legislative Manual gives the list of committees 

for each house; also the exact procedure in the passage of bills. 

4. Is lobbying an evil in your legislature ? Can you find instances in 

which persons lobbied for a good law ? 

5. How does your constitution restrict the legislature as to (i) the 

manner of enacting laws ; (2) the subjects of legislation ? Why 
is each restriction necessary ? 

REFERENCES. 

1. Interesting facts concerning State legislatures are given in Bryce, 

I, 466-470 (486-490). Their faults are discussed on pp. 526-531 
( 550 - 555 )- 

2. Many important items regarding legislatures in all the States are 

tabulated in Ashley, The American Federal State, 584-585. 

3. What is meant by “ proportional representation ” ? Government 

in State and Nation, 13-14; and references, 18. 

4. Direct legislation (initiative and referendum), Ibid., 14-15, and 

references, 18. 

5. What abuses exist in connection with legislatures? N. Am. Rev., 

170: 367-373. What remedies may be suggested ? Ibid., 373-383. 
Who is responsible for corrupt legislation ? Outlook, 71: 469-471. 


CHAPTER XXII. 


STATE EXECUTIVE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DEPART¬ 
MENTS. 

The Governor : His Salary and Term. — We have noticed 
in a previous chapter the necessity for having, chief execu¬ 
tives in towns, villages, and cities. The State, also, has 
its head executive officer, the governor, who is elected by 
the people. A lieutenant-governor is elected at the same 
time with the governor, and he acts in the place of the 
latter when there is a vacancy. The governor resides at 
the State capital, and has offices in the capitol building. 
The State may also provide an “executive mansion,” to be 
used as the governor’s residence. The salaries paid to 
governors vary in different States from $1500 to $10,000 a 
year. In about one-half of the' States the governor’s term 
is two years ; in the other half it is four years, except that 
in Massachusetts and Rhode Island it is one year, and in 
New Jersey three years. 

The Execution of Laws. — As the governor is the chief 
executive of the State, his most important powers are 
directed toward the enforcement of the law. Under or¬ 
dinary circumstances the violation of the laws is checked 
and punished by officers of the local governments. We 
have seen that it is the duty of sheriffs and police officers 

199 


200 


STATE GOVERNMENTS. 


to execute State laws in their respective localities. The 
same may be said of other executive and administrative 
officers in the local divisions. In some cases the neglect 
of duty by one of these officers may be the cause of his 
removal by the governor. But under ordinary circum¬ 
stances the governor has little occasion to interfere with 
the local administration of the law. In times of public 
tumult, however, when disorder or rioting prevails in any 
locality to such an extent that the local officers cannot 
control it, the governor may take charge of affairs for the 
purpose of bringing about peace and order. He does this 
with the help of the State militia, or the National Guard, 
as this is called. 

The State Militia. — Militia companies are organized in almost every 
State of the Union. Each company is composed of men who are 
banded together for purposes of military drill; they are furnished with 
arms and uniforms, and they pledge themselves to respond to a call for 
service at any time. The governor is the commander of the State 
militia, and there are officers subordinate to him. Sometimes the 
militia is called out to assist in the protection of property after some 
public disaster, such as a flood or a tornado . 1 

Legislative Powers of the Governor. — The governor’s 
powers are not exclusively executive, for he has some powers 
in connection with legislation. (i) His right to sign and veto 
bills may be mentioned under this head. (2) Then, too, he 
sends messages to the legislature recommending measures 
that he thinks wise. (3) He may call a special session of 
the legislature to consider any matter that requires imme¬ 
diate attention. Besides these direct legislative functions, 

1 We speak here of the organized militia. For another use of the term, 
see p. 106. 


EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 


201 


the governor generally exerts great influence in connection 
with the work of the legislature. He is naturally one of 
the leaders of his party, and his followers look to him for 
the framing and the carrying out of policies that will in¬ 
crease their party’s influence. Sometimes this considera¬ 
tion, rather than the general interests of the people, seems 
to determine the governor’s attitude toward the making 
and the enforcement of laws. 

The Pardoning Power. — The governor has at least one 
function that would be classed as judicial. He may pardon 
criminals who have been sentenced to punishment by the 
courts. This may be done at any time before the expi¬ 
ration of the term of punishment. The friends of the 
prisoner petition the governor for the pardon, and he 
reviews the testimony and hears arguments in the case 
before deciding it. The withholding of the punishment for 
a time is called a reprieve; if the punishment is changed by 
the governor to one of less severity, it is a commutation . 
In a few States the pardoning power is vested in a board 
instead of in the governor. This may be because of a 
desire to relieve the latter from the labor involved in such 
affairs; or because the pardoning power in the hands of 
governors has sometimes been abused. 

The State Administrative Officers. — The governor is 
incapable of attending to all the details involved in admin¬ 
istering State affairs; so there are many other State 
officers with whom he shares these duties. Some of these 
will now be mentioned. 

Like the clerk in the local government, the Secretary of 
State is the keeper of State records. In his office the 


202 


STATE GOVERNMENTS. 


laws and other official acts are recorded, and to them the 
official seal of the State is given. The State Treasurer 
collects and pays out money. Most states have an officer 
called auditor or comptroller, who has very important duties 
in connection with finances. It is his business to examine 
and approve or disapprove all orders for the payment of 
money; so that unjust claims may not be paid. The 
attorney-general of the State is a lawyer who gives legal 
advice to the governor and administrative officers, and 
who takes charge of important suits in which the State is 
a party. 

The administrative officers mentioned above are in most 
instances elected by the people at the same time with the 
governor and the members of the legislature. Among 
those that are now to be enumerated, the larger number 
are appointed by the governor, though in some cases they 
obtain office by election. 

Penal and Charitable Institutions. — A very important 
part of the work of a State is found in its support of penal 
and charitable institutions. Under the former fall the 
prisons and reformatories. Of the charitable institutions, 
there are asylums for the insane, schools for the deaf and 
blind, and homes for dependent children. The manage¬ 
ment of these institutions is carried on in several different 
ways, (i) There may be a separate board of trustees for 
each institution. In most cases each board exercises its 
powers independently of the others. (2) Since uniformity 
of management seems desirable, to some extent, many 
States have central boards which have power to inspect 
these institutions and more or less power to supervise their 


EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 


203 


management. (3) In a few States the process of central¬ 
ization has gone a step farther: the separate boards of 
trustees have been abolished, and the entire control of all 
the institutions is given to a single board. 

The Department of Education. — The management of our 
public schools, we shall see in a later chapter, is princi¬ 
pally in the hands of local officers — the school boards of 
towns, villages, and cities. But every State has also a State 
superintendent or a board of education, who supervise to 
some extent the administration of State laws by the local 
boards. Considerable influence may be exerted by the 
State department of education in the direction of raising 
the standard of qualifications for teachers and in promot¬ 
ing the progress of education throughout the State. When 
the State supports a university and normal schools, these 
have their boards of trustees, or regents. 

The State Board of Health. — We have noticed that in 
educational matters State officers supervise the local 
administration of laws upon this subject. It is one pur¬ 
pose of this arrangement to secure uniformity; thorough¬ 
ness of administration is another object sought, for local 
officers are sometimes lax in the execution of their duties. 
These observations apply to other subjects than education, 
and among these is the subject of public health. 1 There 
are State boards of health that have authority to assist 
local health officers, or to compel the latter to administer 
the laws properly. 

1 Some of the purposes of health regulations have been mentioned. See 
p. 4. 


204 


STATE GOVERNMENTS. 


Boards of Examiners. — In many other ways State offi¬ 
cers are engaged in protecting the interests of the public. 
There are often boards of examiners who have authority 
to grant licenses to persons wishing to practice medicine, 
dentistry, pharmacy, or law. Only those who possess 
these licenses, and others who are graduates of professional 
schools in good standing, may engage in these pursuits; 
and the boards of examiners must enforce the laws on this 
subject. By such measures the State protects its citizens 
against persons who would impose upon them. 

The State Supervision of Industries. — Many States have 
officers or boards who administer the laws relating to 
banks, railways, and insurance. The powerful corporations 
engaged in these kinds of business require supervision 
because the interests of vast numbers of people are affected 
by their management; also because these corporations, if 
mismanaged, may work such injury to their patrons that no 
means can be found for making adequate reparation to those 
who suffer. Examples of this may be found in railway disas¬ 
ters and in the failures of banks and insurance companies. 

It is becoming quite common for States to undertake, 
through special officers, the inspection of factories, mines, 
and workshops. The State inspectors enforce numerous 
laws, some of which regulate the employment of women 
and children; others require that factories and shops shall 
have a proper amount of light and ventilation, that fire- 
escapes shall be provided, and that dangerous machinery 
shall be surrounded by guard rails. 

Game Laws. — Finally, besides guarding the health, 
financial interests, and safety of its citizens, the State gov- 


EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 


205 


ernment undertakes to supervise their sports by means of 
game laws. These laws aim to protect wild animals 
against wholesale or wanton destruction, by prohibiting 
hunting except during certain seasons. Similar laws are 
enacted for the preservation, and sometimes for the propa¬ 
gation, of fish. 

The State Government and the People. — All of the va¬ 
rious activities of the State serve to remind us that the real 
source of government is in the people. These laws are 
made by their representatives, not by some external author¬ 
ity ; the people take these ways of protecting themselves 
against certain evils and inconveniences. The State offi¬ 
cers are not rulers set over the people to enforce their own 
wills, but they are the people’s servants attending to pub¬ 
lic interests which the citizens could not manage for them¬ 
selves. 

Whether the activities of the State government should 
penetrate still farther into the affairs that are now man¬ 
aged by local governments, and whether its control should 
be extended into new fields and over other enterprises, are 
questions very difficult to answer. Such tendencies are 
centralizing in nature, and their wisdom is debatable. 


SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS. * 

For the study of your State government: — 

1. Learn what you can of the capitol building and the executive 

mansion. 

2. What is the governor’s salary? Is there a “contingent fund” 

besides? 

3. How many militia companies are organized in the State ? The 

State laws tell the number of men and officers composing each 


20 6 


STATE GOVERNMENTS. 


company, battalion, and regiment. Do you know an instance 
when the militia was called into service ? 

4. Make a complete list of the administrative officers and boards. 

Which are elected, and which appointed ? Schools may obtain 
the reports of State officers, showing the workings of the various 
departments. 

5. What penal and charitable institutions are there? How are they 

managed ? 

6. What are the State educational institutions? Under whose con¬ 

trol is each ? 

7. What are some of the laws relating to factories, and to the em¬ 

ployment of women and children? 

8. What are some of the game laws ? Do you think them wise ? 

9. Have you noticed any tendency toward the further extension of 

the State government into local affairs ? 

REFERENCES. 

1. The extension of State authority with regard to the management 

of roads, Forum, 26: 668-672. Highway Construction in 

Massachusetts, Pop. Sci. Mo., 51: 73-82. 

2. General facts concerning State executive and administrative offi¬ 

cers are given in Bryce, Vol. I, Chapter 41. 


APPENDIX A 


CONSTITUTION 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect 
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the 
common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings 
of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this 
Constitution for the United States of America. 

ARTICLE I. 

Section I. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a 
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a 
House of Representatives. 

Sect. II. i. The House of Representatives shall be composed of 
members chosen every second year by the people of the several States, 
and the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for 
electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature. 

2. No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained 
to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the 
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that 
State in which he shall be chosen. 

3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the 
several States which may be included within this Union, according to 
their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the 
whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a 


207 



208 


APPENDIX A. 


term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other 
persons. The actual enumeration shall be made within three years 
after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within 
every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by 
law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for 
every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one representa¬ 
tive ; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New 
Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, 
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New 
York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Mary¬ 
land six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and 
Georgia three. 

4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, 
the Executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies. 

5. The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and 
other officers ; and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Sect. III. 1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed 
of two Senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for 
six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. 

2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the 
first election, they shall be divided as equally, as may be into three 
classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at 
the expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration 
of the fourth year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth 
year, so that one third may be chosen every second year; and if 
vacancies happen by resignation or otherwise, during the recess of the 
legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary 
appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall then 
fill such vacancies. 

3. No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the 
age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, 
and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for 
which he shall be chosen. 

4. The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the 
Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 


CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 209 

5. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President 
pro tempore , in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall 
exercise the office of President of the United States. 

6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. 
When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. 
When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice 
shall preside: and no person shall be convicted without the concur¬ 
rence of two thirds of the members present. 

7 * Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than 
to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office 
of honor, trust or profit under the United States: but the party con¬ 
victed shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judg¬ 
ment and punishment, according to law. 

Sect. IV. 1. The times, places and manner of holding elections 
for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by 
the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law 
make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing 
Senators. 

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such 
meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by 
law appoint a different day. 

Sect. V. 1. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns 
and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall con¬ 
stitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn 
from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of 
absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as each 
house may provide. 

2. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its 
members for disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence of two 
thirds, expel a member. 

3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time 
to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment 
require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house 
on any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be 
entered on the journal. 

4. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the 


210 


APPENDIX A. 


consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other 
place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Sect. VI. i. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a 
compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law and paid out 
of the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases except 
treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest 
during their attendance at the session of their respective houses, and 
in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate 
in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

2. No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he 
was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the 
United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments 
whereof shall have been increased, during such time; and no person 
holding any office under the United States shall be a member of either 
house during his continuance in office. 

Sect. VII. i. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the 
House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with 
amendments as on other bills. 

2. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives 
and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the 
President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if 
not he shall return it with his objections to that house in which it shall 
have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, 
and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two thirds 
of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with 
the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be recon¬ 
sidered, and, if approved by two thirds of that house, it shall become a 
law. But in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined 
by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against 
the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If 
any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays 
excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a 
law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their 
adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

3. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the 
Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a 


CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 21 


question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the 
United States ; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved 
by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds 
of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and 
limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

Sect. VIII. The Congress shall have power 

1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the 
debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the 
United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform 
throughout the United States; 

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States; 

3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several 
States, and with the Indian tribes; 

4. To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws 
on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States ; 

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, 
and fix the standard of weights and measures; 

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities 
and current coin of the United States; 

7. To establish post offices and post roads; 

8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing 
for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their 
respective writings and discoveries ; 

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; 

10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the 
high seas and offences against the law of nations; 

11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make 
rules concerning captures on land and water; 

12. To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to 
that use shall be for a longer term than two years; 

13. To provide and maintain a navy; 

14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land 
and naval forces; 

15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the 
Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions; 

16. To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the militia, 


212 


APPENDIX A. 


and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service 
of the United States, reserving to the States respectively the appoint¬ 
ment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according 
to the discipline prescribed by Congress ; 

17. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over 
such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of 
particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat 
of government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over 
all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the State, in 
which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, 
dockyards, and other needful buildings; — and 

18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carry¬ 
ing into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested 
by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any 
department or office thereof. 

Sect. IX. 1. The migration or importation of such persons as any 
of the States now existing shall think proper to admit shall not be pro¬ 
hibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred 
and eight; but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not 
exceeding ten dollars for each person. 

2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may 
require it. 

3. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

4. No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in propor¬ 
tion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken. 

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 

6. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or 
revenue to the ports of one State over those of another: nor shall 
vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay 
duties in another. 

7. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence 
of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of 
the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published 
from time to time. 

8. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no 


CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 213 


person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without 
the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, 
or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state. 

Sect. X. 1. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or con¬ 
federation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills 
of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment 
of debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing 
the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

2. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any im¬ 
posts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely 
necessary for executing its inspection laws : and the net produce of all 
duties and imposts, laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be 
for the use of the treasury of the United States ; and all such laws shall 
be subject to the revision and control of the Congress. 

3. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of 
tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any 
agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or 
engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as 
will not admit of delay. 


ARTICLE II. 

Section I. 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President 
of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the 
term of four years, and together with the Vice-President, chosen for the 
same term, be elected as follows : 

2. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof 
may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators 
and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Con¬ 
gress ; but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of 
trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. 

[The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot 
for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the 
same State with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the 
persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each ; which list they 
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of government of 
the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The Presi- 


214 


APPENDIX A. 


dent of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be 
counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the 
President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors 
appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and 
have an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall 
immediately choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no 
person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said 
house shall in like manner choose the President. But in choosing the 
President the votes shall be taken, by States, the representation from 
each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of 
a member or members from two thirds of the States, and a majority 
of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the 
choice of the President, the person having the greatest number of votes 
of the electors shall be the Vice-President. But if there should remain 
two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them 
by ballot the Vice-President.] 

3. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, 
and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be 
the same throughout the United States. 

4. No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United 
States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible 
to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that 
office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and 
been fourteen years a resident within the United States. 

5. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his 
death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of 
the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and the 
Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resigna¬ 
tion, or inability, both of the President and Vice-President, declaring 
what officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act ac¬ 
cordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall be 
elected. 

6. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a 
compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during 
the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not re- 


CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 215 


ceive within that period any other emolument from the United States, 
or any of them. 

7. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the 
following oath or affirmation : — “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that 
I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, 
and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the 
Constitution of the United States. 11 

Sect. II. 1. The President shall be commander in chief of the 
army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several 
states, when called into the actual service of the United States ; he may 
require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the 
executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their 
respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and 
pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of im¬ 
peachment. 

2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present 
concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and con¬ 
sent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers 
and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the 
United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided 
for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by 
law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in 
the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may 
happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which 
shall expire at the end of their next session. 

Sect. III. He shall from time to time give to the Congress infor¬ 
mation of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration 
such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on 
extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, and 
in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of ad¬ 
journment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; 
he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take 
care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the 
officers of the United States. 


216 


APPENDIX A. 


Sect. IV. The President, Vice-President and all civil officers of 
the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, 
and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misde¬ 
meanors. 


ARTICLE III. 

Section I. The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested 
in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as Congress may 
from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the 
Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good be¬ 
havior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compen¬ 
sation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. 

Sect. II. i. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law 
and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United 
States, and treaties made or which shall be made, under their authority ; 

— to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and con¬ 
suls ; — to all cases of admiralty jurisdiction ; — to controversies to 
which the United States shall be a party; — to controversies between 
two or more States; — between a State and citizens of another State ; 

— between citizens of different States;—between citizens of the same 
State claiming lands under grants of different States, and between a 
State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects. 

2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and 
consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court 
shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before men¬ 
tioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to 
law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the 
Congress shall make. 

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be 
by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes 
shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, 
the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law 
have directed. 

Sect. III. 1. Treason against the United States shall consist only 
in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving 
them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless 


CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 217 

on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confes¬ 
sion in open court. 

2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of 
treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or 
forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted. 


ARTICLE IV. 

Section I. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the 
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. 
And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which 
such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect 
thereof. 

Sect. II. 1. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all priv¬ 
ileges and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

2. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other 
crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall 
on demand of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, 
be delivered up, to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the 
crime. 

3. No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws 
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or reg¬ 
ulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be 
delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may 
be due. 

Sect. III. 1. New States may be admitted by the Congress into 
this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the 
jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the junc¬ 
tion of two or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of 
the legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. 

. 2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful 
rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belong¬ 
ing to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so 
construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any 
particular State. 

Sect. IV. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this 


218 


APPENDIX A. 


Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the exec¬ 
utive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic vio¬ 
lence. 


ARTICLE V. 

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it 
necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the 
application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall 
call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case shall 
be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when 
ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by 
conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of 
ratification may be proposed by the Congress ; provided that no amend¬ 
ments which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hun¬ 
dred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in 
the ninth section of the first article; and that no State, without its 
consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI. 

1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the 
adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United 
States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation. 

2. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall 
be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be 
made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme 
law of the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, 
anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary not¬ 
withstanding. 

3. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the 
members of the several State legislatures, and all executive and judi¬ 
cial officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall 
be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no 
religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or 
public trust under the United States. 


CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 219 


ARTICLE VII. 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient 
for the establishment of this Constitution between the States so rati¬ 
fying the same. 

Done in Convention by the unanimous consent of the States present, 
the seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thou¬ 
sand seven hundred and eighty-seven and of the Independence of 
the United States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof we 
have hereunto subscribed our names. 


[Signed by] 

New Hampshire. 
John Langdon, 
Nicholas Gilman. 

Massachusetts. 
Nathaniel Gorham, 
Rufus King. 

Connecticut. 
Wm. Sami. Johnson, 
Roger Sherman. 

New York. 
Alexander Hamilton. 

New Jersey. 
Wil: Livingston, 
David Brearley, 

Wm: Paterson, 

Jona: Dayton. 


G° Washington, 

Presidt and Depidy from Virginia. 
Pennsylvania. Virginia. 


B Franklin, 
Thomas Mifflin, 
Robt. Morris, 

Geo. Clymer, 

Tho. Fitz Simons, 
Jared Ingersoll, 
James Wilson, 
Gouv Morris. 

Delaware. 
Geo: Read, 
Gunning Bedford, 
Jun, 

John Dickinson, 
Richard Bassett, 
Jaco: Broom, 


John Blair, 

James Madison, Jr. 

North Carolina. 
Wm. Blount, 

Richd. Dobbs Spaight, 
Hu Williamson. 

South Carolina. 

J. Rutledge, 

Charles Cotesworth 
Pinckney. 

Charles Pinckney, 
Pierce Butler. 

Georgia. 
William Few, 

Abr Baldwin. 


Maryland. 

James McHenry, 

Dan of St. Thos. 

Jenifer, 

Danl Carroll. 

Attest: William Jackson, Secretary . 


220 


APPENDIX A. 


Articles in Addition to and Amendment of the Constitution 
of the United States of America, Proposed by Congress, 
and Ratified by the Legislatures of the Several States, 
PURSUANT TO THE FIFTH ARTICLE OF THE ORIGINAL CONSTITU¬ 
TION. 

Article I. — Congress shall make no law respecting an establish¬ 
ment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging 
the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people 
peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of 
grievances. 

Article II.— A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the se¬ 
curity of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, 
shall not be infringed. 

Article III. — No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in 
any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in 
a manner to be prescribed by law. 

Article IV. — The right of the people to be secure in their per¬ 
sons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and 
seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon 
probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly 
describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be 
seized. 

Article V. — No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or 
otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a 
grand jury except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the 
militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall 
any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy 
of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a wit¬ 
ness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without 
due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use 
without just compensation. 

Article VI. — In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy 
the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State 
and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which dis¬ 
trict shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed 
of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the 


CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 


221 


witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining wit¬ 
nesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. 

Article VII. —In suits at common law, where the value in contro¬ 
versy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be pre¬ 
served, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in 
any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the com¬ 
mon law. 

Article VIII. — Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive 
fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

Article IX. — The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain 
rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by 
the people. 

Article X. — The powers not delegated to the United States by the 
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the 
States respectively, or to the people. 

Article XI. — The judicial power of the United States shall not be 
construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prose¬ 
cuted against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or 
by citizens or subjects of any foreign state. 

Article XII. — i. The electors shall meet in their respective States, 
and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at 
least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; 
they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and 
in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall 
make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all per¬ 
sons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, 
which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the 
seat of government of the United .States, directed to the President of 
the Senate; —the President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the 
Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the 
votes shall then be counted ; — the person having the greatest number 
of votes for President shall be the President, if such number be a 
majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person 
have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers 
not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the 
House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the 


s 


222 


APPENDIX A. 


President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by 
States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum 
for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds 
of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a 
choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a Presi¬ 
dent whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the 
fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as 
President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability 
of the President. — The person having the greatest number of votes 
as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a 
majority of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no person 
have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the 
Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall 
consist of two thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority 
of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person 
constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to 
that of Vice-President of the United States. 

Article XIII.—Section i. Neither slavery nor involuntary servi¬ 
tude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have 
been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place 
subject to their jurisdiction. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 

Article XIV. —Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the 
United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the 
United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall 
make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities 
of citizens of the United States ; nor shall any State deprive any person 
of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any 
person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole num¬ 
ber of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when 
the right to vote at any election for the choice of Electors for President 
and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, 
the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the 


CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 223 

legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such 
State, being twenty-one years of age and citizens of the United States, 
or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other 
crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the pro¬ 
portion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole 
number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. 

Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in 
Congress, or Elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any 
office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, 
who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as 
an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, 
or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Con¬ 
stitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or 
rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies 
thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two thirds of each house, 
remove such disability. 

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions 
and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall 
not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall 
assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or 
rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emanci¬ 
pation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be 
held illegal and void. 

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce by appropriate 
legislation the provisions of this article. 

Article XV.—Section 1. The right of citizens of the United 
States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or 
any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 


APPENDIX B 


ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 

Articles of Confederatio 7 i and Perpetual Union between the States of 
New Hampshire , Massachusetts Bay , Rhode Island and Providence 
Plantations , Connecticut , New York , New Jersey , Pennsylvania, 
Delaware , Maryland , Virginia , North Carolina , South Carolina, 
and Georgia . 

Article I. — The style of this Confederacy shall be, “The United 
States of America.” 

Art. II. — Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom, and inde¬ 
pendence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this 
Confederation expressly delegated to the United States in Congress 
assembled. 

Art. III. — The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league 
of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of 
their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves 
to assist each other against all force offered to, or attacks made upon 
them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any 
other pretense whatever. 

Art. IV.—The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship 
and intercourse among the people of the different States in this Union, 
the free inhabitants of each of these States, paupers, vagabonds, and 
fugitives from justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and 
immunities of free citizens in the several States; and the people of 
each State shall have free ingress and egress to and from any other 
State, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and commerce 
subject to the same duties, impositions, and restrictions as the inhabit¬ 
ants thereof respectively; provided that such restrictions shall not 


224 


ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 


225 


extend so far as to prevent the removal of property imported into any 
State to any other State of which the owner is an inhabitant; provided 
also, that no imposition, duties, or restriction shall be laid by any State 
on the property of the United States or either of them. If any person 
guilty of, or charged with, treason, felony, or other high misdemeanor 
in any State shall flee from justice and be found in any of the United 
States, he shall, upon demand of the governor or executive power of 
the States from which he fled, be delivered up and removed to the State 
having jurisdiction of his offense. Full faith and credit shall be given 
in each of these States to the records, acts, and judicial proceedings of 
the courts and magistrates of every other State. 

Art. V. — For the more convenient management of the general in¬ 
terests of the United States, delegates shall be annually appointed in 
such manner as the Legislature of each State shall direct, to meet 
in Congress on the first Monday in November in every year with a 
power reserved to each State to recall its delegates, or any of them, at 
any time within the year, and to send others in their stead for the 
remainder of the year. No State shall be represented in Congress by 
less than two, nor by more than seven members; and no person shall 
be capable of being a delegate for more than three years in any term 
of six years ; nor shall any person, being a delegate, be capable of hold¬ 
ing any office under the United States for which he, or another for his 
benefit, receives any salary, fees, or emolument of any kind. Each 
State shall maintain its own delegates in any meeting of the States and 
while they act as members of the Committee of the States. In deter¬ 
mining questions in the United States in Congress assembled, each 
State shall have one vote. Freedom of speech and debate in Congress 
shall not be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Con¬ 
gress ; and the members of Congress shall be protected in their persons 
from arrest and imprisonment during the time of their going to and 
from, and attendance on, Congress, except for treason, felony, or breach 
of the peace. 

Art. VI. — No State, without the consent of the United States, in 
Congress assembled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any embassy 
from, or enter into any conference, agreement, alliance, or treaty with 
any king, prince, or state; nor shall any person holding any office of 


226 


APPENDIX B. 


profit or trust under the United States, or any of them, accept of any 
present, emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever from any king, 
prince, or foreign state $ nor shall the United States, in Congress assem¬ 
bled, or any of them, grant any title of nobility. 

No two or more States shall enter into any treaty, confederation, or 
alliance whatever between them, without the consent of the United 
States, in Congress assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for 
which the same is to be entered into, and how long it shall continue. 

No State shall lay any imposts or duties which may interfere with 
any stipulations in treaties entered into by the United States, in Con¬ 
gress assembled, with any king, prince, or state, in pursuance of any 
treaties already proposed by Congress to the courts of France and Spain. 

No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace by any State, 
except such number only as shall be deemed necessary by the United 
States, in Congress assembled, for the defense of such State or its 
trade, nor shall any body of forces be kept up by any State in time of 
peace, except such number only as, in the judgment of the United 
States, in Congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison 
the forts necessary for the defense of such State; but every State shall 
always keep up a well-regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently 
armed and accoutered, and shall provide and constantly have ready for 
use in public stores a due number of field-pieces and tents, and a proper 
quantity of arms, ammunition, and camp equipage. 

No State shall engage in any war without the consent of the United 
States, in Congress assembled, unless such State be actually invaded 
by enemies, or shall have received certain advice of a resolution being 
formed by some nation of Indians to invade such State, and the danger 
is so imminent as not to admit of a delay till the United States, in Con¬ 
gress assembled, can be consulted ; nor shall any State grant commissions 
to any ships or vessels of war, nor letters of marque or reprisal, except 
it be after a declaration of war by the United States, in Congress 
assembled, and then only against the kingdom or state, and the subjects 
thereof, against which war has been so declared, and under such regula¬ 
tions as shall be established by the United States, in Congress assem¬ 
bled, unless such State be infested by pirates, in which case vessels of 
war may be fitted out for that occasion, and kept so long as the danger 


ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 


227 

shall continue, or until the United States, in Congress assembled, shall 
determine otherwise. 

Art. VII. — When land forces are raised by any State for the com¬ 
mon defense, all officers of or under the rank of Colonel shall be 
appointed by the Legislature of each State respectively by whom such 
forces shall be raised, or in such manner as such State shall direct, and 
all vacancies shall be filled up by the State which first made the 
appointment. 

Art. VIII. — All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall 
be incurred for the common defense, or general welfare, and allowed by 
the United States, in Congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a 
common treasury, which shall be supplied by the several States in pro¬ 
portion to the value of all land within each State, granted to, or sur¬ 
veyed for, any person, as such land and the buildings and improvements 
thereon shall be estimated, according to such mode as the United States, 
in Congress assembled, shall, from time to time, direct and appoint. 
The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the 
authority and direction of the Legislatures of the several States, within 
the time agreed upon by the United States, in Congress assembled. 

Art. IX. — The United States, in Congress assembled, shall have 
the sole and exclusive right and power of determining on peace and 
war, except in the cases mentioned in the sixth Article; of sending and 
receiving ambassadors; entering into treaties and alliances, provided 
that no treaty of commerce shall be made, whereby the legislative power 
of the respective States shall be restrained from imposing such imposts 
and duties on foreigners as their own people are subjected to, or from 
prohibiting the exportation or importation of any species of goods or 
commodities whatever; of establishing rules for deciding, in all cases, 
what captures on land and water shall be legal, and in what manner 
prizes taken by land or naval forces in the service of the United States 
shall be divided or appropriated; of granting letters of marque and 
reprisal in times of peace; appointing courts for the trial of piracies 
and felonies committed on the high seas; and establishing courts for 
receiving and determining finally appeals in all cases of captures; pro¬ 
vided that no member of Congress shall be appointed a judge of any of 
the said courts. 


228 


APPENDIX B. 


The United States, in Congress assembled, shall also be the last 
resort on appeal in all disputes and differences now subsisting, or that 
hereafter may arise between two or more States concerning boundary, 
jurisdiction, or any other cause whatever; which authority shall always 
be exercised in the manner following: Whenever the legislative or 
executive authority, or lawful agent of any State in controversy with 
another, shall present a petition to Congress, stating the matter in ques¬ 
tion, and praying for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given by order 
of Congress to the legislative or executive authority of the other State 
in controversy, and a day assigned for the appearance of the parties by 
their lawful agents, who shall then be directed to appoint, by joint con¬ 
sent, commissioners or judges to constitute a court for hearing and 
determining the matter in question; but if they cannot agree, Congress 
shall name three persons out of each of the United States, and from the 
list of such persons each party shall alternately strike out one, the peti¬ 
tioners beginning, until the number shall be reduced to thirteen; and 
from that number not less than seven nor more than nine names, as 
Congress shall direct, shall, in the presence of Congress, be drawn out’ 
by lot; and the persons whose names shall be so drawn, or any five of 
them, shall be commissioners or judges, to hear and finally determine 
the controversy, so always as a major part of the judges who shall hear 
the cause shall agree in the determination; and if either party shall 
neglect to attend at the day appointed, without showing reasons which 
Congress shall judge sufficient, or being present, shall refuse to strike, 
the Congress shall proceed to nominate three persons out of each State, 
and the secretary of Congress shall strike in behalf of such party absent 
or refusing; and the judgment and sentence of the court, to be ap¬ 
pointed in the manner before prescribed, shall be final and conclusive; 
and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit to the authority of such 
court, or to appear or defend their claim or cause, the court shall never¬ 
theless proceed to pronounce sentence or judgment, which shall in like 
manner be final and decisive; the judgment or sentence and other 
proceedings being in either case transmitted to Congress, and lodged 
among the acts of Congress for the security of the parties concerned; 
provided, that every commissioner, before he sits in judgment, shall 
take an oath, to be administered by one of the judges of the supreme 


ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 


229 


or superior court of the State where the cause shall be tried, “ well and 
truly to hear and determine the matter in question, according to the 
best of his judgment, without favor, affection, or hope of reward.” 
Provided, also, that no State shall be deprived of territory for the 
benefit of the United States. 

All controversies concerning the private right of soil claimed under 
different grants of two or more States, whose jurisdictions, as they may 
respect such lands, and the States which passed such grants are ad¬ 
justed, the said grants or either of them being at the same time claimed 
to have originated antecedent to such settlement of jurisdiction, shall, 
on the petition of either party to the Congress of the United States, 
be finally determined, as near as may be, in the same manner as is 
before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting territorial jurisdiction 
between different States. 

The United States, in Congress assembled, shall also have the sole 
and exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin 
struck by their own authority, or by that of the respective States ; fixing 
the standard of weights and measures throughout the United States; 
regulating the trade and managing all affairs with the Indians, not 
members of any of the States; provided that the legislative right of 
any State, within its own limits, be not infringed or violated ; establish¬ 
ing and regulating post offices from one State to another, throughout 
all the United States, and exacting such postage on the papers passing 
through the same as may be requisite to defray the expenses of the said 
office; appointing all officers of the land forces in the service of the 
United States, excepting regimental officers; appointing all the officers 
of the naval forces, and commissioning all officers whatever in the ser¬ 
vice of the United States; making rules for the government and reg¬ 
ulation of the said land and naval forces, and directing their operations. 

The United States, in Congress assembled, shall have authority to 
appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of Congress, to be denomi¬ 
nated “ A Committee of the States,” and to consist of one delegate 
from each State, and to appoint such other committees and civil offi¬ 
cers as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of the 
United States under their direction; to appoint one of their number to 
preside; provided that no person be allowed to serve in the office of 


230 


APPENDIX B. 


president more than one year in any term of three years; to ascertain 
the necessary sums of money to be raised for the service of the United 
States, and to appropriate and apply the same for defraying the public 
expenses; to borrow money or emit bills on the credit of the United 
States, transmitting every half year to the respective States an account 
of the sums of money so borrowed or emitted; to build and equip a 
navy; to agree upon the number of land forces, and to make requisi¬ 
tions from each State for its quota, in proportion to the number of white 
inhabitants in such State, which requisition shall be binding; and 
thereupon the Legislature of each State shall appoint the regimental 
officers, raise the men, and clothe, arm, and equip them in a soldier¬ 
like manner, at the expense of the United States; and the officers and 
men so clothed, armed, and equipped shall march to the place appointed, 
and within the time agreed on by the United States, in Congress as¬ 
sembled; but if the United States, in Congress assembled, shall, on 
consideration of circumstances, judge proper that any State should not 
raise men, or should raise a smaller number than its quota, and that 
any other State should raise a greater number of men than the quota 
thereof, such extra number shall be raised, officered, clothed, armed, and 
equipped in the same manner as the quota of such State, unless the 
Legislature of such State shall judge that such extra number can not 
be safely spared out of the same, in which case they shall raise, officer, 
clothe, arm, and equip as many of such extra number as they judge 
can be safely spared, and the officers and men so clothed, armed, and 
equipped shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed 
on by the United States, in Congress assembled. 

The United States, in Congress assembled, shall never engage in a 
war, nor grant letters of marque and reprisal in time of peace, nor 
enter into any treaties or alliances, nor coin money, nor regulate the 
value thereof, nor ascertain the sums and expenses necessary for the 
defense and welfare of the United States, or any of them, nor emit 
bills, nor borrow money on the credit of the United States, nor appro¬ 
priate money, nor agree upon the number of vessels of war to be built 
or purchased, or the number of land or sea forces to be raised, nor ap¬ 
point a commander in chief of the army or navy, unless nine States 
assent to the same, nor shall a question on any other point, except for 


ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 


231 


adjourning from day to day, be determined, unless by the votes of a 
majority of the United States, in Congress assembled. 

The Congress of the United States shall have power to adjourn to 
any time within the year, and to any place within the United States, so 
that no period of adjournment be for a longer duration than the space 
of six months, and shall publish the journal of their proceedings 
monthly, except such parts thereof relating to treaties, alliances, or 
military operations as in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas 
and nays of the delegates of each State, on any question, shall be en¬ 
tered on the journal when it is desired by any delegate; and the dele¬ 
gates of a State, or any of them, at his or their request, shall be fur¬ 
nished with a transcript of the said journal except such parts as are 
above excepted, to lay before the Legislatures of the several States. 

Art. X.—The Committee of the States, or any nine of them, shall 
be authorized to execute, in the recess of Congress, such of the powers 
of Congress as the United States, in Congress assembled, by the con¬ 
sent of nine States, shall, from time to time, think expedient to vest 
them with; provided that no power be delegated to the said Commit¬ 
tee, for the exercise of which, by the Articles of Confederation, the 
voice of nine States in the Congress of the United States assembled is 
requisite. 

Art. XI. — Canada, acceding to this Confederation, and joining in 
the measures of the United States shall be admitted into, and entitled 
to all the advantages of this Union; but no other colony shall be 
admitted into the same, unless such admission be agreed to by nine 
States. 

Art. XII. — All bills of credit emitted, moneys borrowed, and debts 
contracted by or under the authority of Congress, before the assembling 
of the United States, in pursuance of the present Confederation, shall 
be deemed and considered as a charge against the United States, for 
payment and satisfaction whereof the said United States and the public 
faith are hereby solemnly pledged. 

Art. XIII. — Every State shall abide by the determinations of the 
United States, in Congress assembled, on all questions which by this 
Confederation are submitted to them. And the Articles of this Con¬ 
federation shall be inviolably observed by every State, and the Union 


232 


APPENDIX B. 


shall be perpetual; nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be 
made in any of them, unless such alteration be agreed to in a Congress 
of the United States, and be afterwards confirmed by the Legislatures 
of every State. 

And whereas it hath pleased the great Governor of the world to 
incline the hearts of the Legislatures we respectively represent in Con¬ 
gress to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify, the said Articles of 
Confederation and perpetual Union, know ye, that we, the undersigned 
delegates, by virtue of the power and authority to us given for that 
purpose, do, by these presents, in the name and in behalf of our re¬ 
spective constituents, fully and entirely ratify and confirm each and 
every of the said Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union, and 
all and singular the matters and things therein contained. And we do 
further solemnly plight and engage the faith of our respective constitu¬ 
ents, that they shall abide by the determinations of the United States, 
in Congress assembled, on all questions which by the said Confeder¬ 
ation are submitted to them; and that the Articles thereof shall be 
inviolably observed by the States we respectively represent, and that 
the Union shall be perpetual. In witness whereof, we have hereunto 
set our hands in Congress. Done at Philadelphia, in the State of 
Pennsylvania, the ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord 1778, and 
in the third year of the Independence of America. 


INDEX 


Administrative departments, city, 20- 
25 - 

Administrative officers, State, 201. 
Agriculture, department of, 150-151. 
Alaska, 167. 

Albany Congress, 33. 

Amendments to the Constitution, 114, 
chap. 18. 

Annapolis Convention, 40. 

Annapolis Naval Academy, 147. 
Appointment, President’s power of, 
133 - 137 . 

Apportionment of representatives, 53- 
56 . 

Appropriations by Congress, 88. 

Army of the United States, 104-105. 
Articles of Confederation, 37, Appen¬ 
dix B. 

Bank, see National Banks. 
Bankruptcy laws, 99-100. 

Bills in Congress, chap. 10. 

Bonds, National, 88-89. 

Cabinet, chap. 16. 

Cabinet, system of government, 182- 

183. 

Capital, location of, 107. 

Caucus, 210. 

Census of the United States, 55. 
Charities, 23-24, 202. 

Circuit Courts of the United States, 
157 . 

Citizenship, 98-99. 


City government, chap. 4. 

Civil Service Reform, 136, 139, 140. 

Coins and coinage, 93-94. 

Colonial governments, 32, 187-189. 

Colonies made States, 144. 

Committee system in State legisla¬ 
tures, 193-194 ; in Congress, chap. 9. 

Committee on Rules, 75-76. 

Committees of Correspondence, 35. 

Commerce, departments of, 151. 

Commerce, power of Congress over, 
89-92. 

Confederation, Articles of, see Articles 
of Confederation. 

Conference committees, 79. 

Congress, Continental, 35-37 ; under 
the Constitution, chap. 7 ; procedure 
in, chap. 8 ; sessions of, 62. 

Constitution of U. S., Appendix A ; 
amendments of, chap. 18 : origin of, 
47 ; ratification, 44-45. 

Constitutional convention (1787)* 
chap. 6 ; delegates to, 40 ; compro¬ 
mises, 42-43. 

Constitutions (State), 189. 

Consuls, 143. 

Conventions, National, 117. 

Conventions, political, 210. 

Copyright, 103. 

County government, chap. 4. 

County type of local government, 
15-16. 

Criminal cases, 233. 

Cuba, 168. 


233 



234 


INDEX 


Debts of U. S., 88-89. 

Delinquent taxes, 224. 

Diplomatic bureaus, 142. 

District of Columbia, 107. 

District courts of the U. S., 157. 
Duties, customs, 83-85. 

Educational systems, chap. 26, 203. 
Elections, chap. 23. 

Electoral Commission, 123. 

Electors, Presidential, 116, 119-122. 
England, 182-183. 

Equalization of taxes, 222. 

Executive departments, chap. .16. 

Ex post facto laws, 112. 

Federal Republics, 179. 

Finances, National, 83-89. 

France, 180. 

Franchises, 26. 

Free coinage, 94. 

Game laws, 204. 

Gerrymander, 52. 

Gold certificates, 95. 

Governors of States, 195, 199-201. 
Grand jury, 162, 231. 

Habeas Corpus , ill. 

Hawaii, 167. 

Health, public, 4, 22-23, 203. 
Homestead law, 170. 

Immigration law, 153. 

Impeachment, 66-67. 

Implied powers of Congress, 108, no. 
Inauguration of President, 127. 
Income taxes, 87. 

Indian Territory, 167. 

Indians, 149-150, 167. 

Interior, department of, 149. 


Internal revenue system, 85-86. 
Interstate commerce law, 90-91. 

Judicial trials, chap. 25. 

Judiciary, National, chap. 16; State, 
chap. 25. 

Jurisdiction of U. S. courts, 158-160. 
Jury system, 161-163. 

Justice, department of, 148. 

Lands, public, 169. 

Legal tender, definition, 95. 
Legislatures, chap. 21. 

Lobby, 78, 195. 

Local government, chap. 1. 

Local government, origin, chap. 3. 

Mail matter, classes, 101. 

Mayor, 20. 

Message, President’s, 137. 

Military powers of Congress, 104-107. 
Militia, 106-107. 

Monarchies, 181-183. 

Money of the U. S.. 92-96. 

Municipal government, chap. 4 ; own¬ 
ership, 27, 31. 

National Banks, 95-96. 
Naturalization, 99. 

Navy, department of, 147; of the 
U. S., 105-106. 

New England colonies, 13-15 ; Con¬ 
federation, 33. 

New Jersey Plan, 42. 

Nobility, titles of, 112. 

Northwest Territory, 165. 

Ordinance of 1787, 165. 

Pairs, in voting, 80. 

Pardons, 132. 



INDEX 


235 


Parish, 16. 

Patents, 103. 

Parliament of England, 183. 

Party government, chap. 23. 

Penal institutions, 202. 

Philippines, government of, 167-168. 
Poor, 3. 

Porto Rico, government of, 166. 

Post office, department of, 148 ; sys¬ 
tem, 100-102, log. 

President of U. S., chaps. 13, 14 ; elec¬ 
tion of, 115-125. 

Presidential succession, 126. 

Property tax, see Taxation. 
Proportional representation, 52. 

Public lands, 169. 

Quorum in Congress, 67-69. 

Railroads and interstate commerce, 
90-91. 

Reform movements, 28, 31. 
Representatives, apportionment of, 
53-56; election of, 51-52; qualifi¬ 
cations of, 52-53. 

Reprieve, 132. 

Revenue bills in Congress, 87. 

Roads, 2. 

Rural delivery of mail, 101. 

Russia, 184. 

Salaries of Congressmen, 70-71. 
Schools, chap. 26. 

Senate of U. S., 57. 

Senators, qualifications of, 58 ; elec¬ 
tion of, 59. 

Silver certificates, 95. 

Smuggling, 84. 

Speaker of the House of Representa¬ 
tives, 76-78. 

Spoils system, 135. 

Stamp Act Congress, 34. 


State, department of, 142. 

States, government, chaps. 20, 21, 22. 
Streets, 2, 23. 

Subpoena, 232. 

Subsidiary silver, 94. 

Supervisor system of local govern¬ 
ment, 8. 

Supreme Court of U. S., 157. 

Survey, U. S. Government, 170-174. 
Switzerland, 180-181. 

Tariff, 84-85. 

Taxes, direct and indirect, 87. 
Territorial delegates, 56. 

Territories, chap. 17. 

Territory, admission of, 168. 

Town type of local government, 14; 

township-county type, 17. 

Treasury, department of, 144. 
Treasury notes, 94, 96. 

Treaties, 132-133. 

Trials, judicial, chap. 25. 

Trusts, 91-92. 

Union, steps leading to, chap. 5. 
United States notes, 95. 

Vacancies, in House of Representa¬ 
tives, 57 ; in Senate, 60. 

Valuation of property, 60. 

Venire, 232. 

Vestry, 16. 

Veto, 80-81. 

Vice-President of U. S., 126. 

Virginia local government, 15-16. 
Virginia plan, 41. 

Voting, methods in Congress, 80. 

War, declaration of, 104 ; Department 
of, 146. 


Yeas and nays, 80. 







THE GOVERNMENT 
OF TENNESSEE 



* 


BY 

JOSHUA W. CALDWELL 

AUTHOR OF “CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF TENNESSEE” 
AND “BENCH AND BAR OF TENNESSEE” 


NEW YORK 

CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS 

I 9°4 


UgRAKTnfOeNftffFftS 

Two Ooolw Rnwrfv*! 

SEP 1 1904 

8o»yrtrM Brtrv 

4-/4*+- 

CLASS XXo. No. 

9 * 9 1 

C©PY B ' 


COPYRIGHT, 1904, BY 
CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS 






CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Pioneer and Territorial Governments . . i 

II. Tennessee Constitutions.7 

III. State Government—The Legislature. . . 12 

IV. State Government—Executive Department . 16 

V. State Government—Judicial Department . . 22 

VI. County and City Government . . . .30 

VII. Schools. 36 

VIII. Charitable and Penal Institutions . . .41 

IX. Taxation. 44 

































































































































. 




















































THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


CHAPTER I. 

PIONEER AND TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENTS. 

Tennessee was a part of the English Province of 
North Carolina until 1776, and a part of the State of 
North Carolina from 1776 to 1790, when it became a 
Territory of the United States. In 1796 it became a 
State, and adopted its first Constitution, which, in the 
main, was a copy of the Constitution of North Carolina. 

The Watauga Association. — The first settlements in 
Tennessee were in the northeastern corner of the State 
along the Holston, Watauga, and Nollichucky Rivers. 
The settlers were mainly from Virginia and North 
Carolina. The first civil government within the bound¬ 
aries of the State was the Watauga Association, which 
was established by the settlers on the Watauga River 
in 1772. The Nollichucky settlers, eventually, united 
with Watauga, but those on the Holston were not at 
any time connected with the Association. The settle¬ 
ments on the Watauga began in 1768 or 1769, and in 
the year 1770 received large accessions. Until 1771 
these settlements were supposed to be in Virginia, but 
a survey of a part of the line between North Carolina 


2 


THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


and Virginia, made in 1771, showed them to be in North 
Carolina, and in that part of the Province which was 
recognized as belonging to the Cherokee Indians. Their 
situation was so remote, and communication with the set¬ 
tled portions of North Carolina was so difficult, that in 
1772 they found it necessary to form a temporary gov¬ 
ernment of their own, adopting the laws of Virginia. 
Written Articles of Association, which, unfortunately, 
have not been preserved, were signed by all the adult 
male settlers. When the Articles had been adopted, a 
court consisting of five members was chosen, to which 
was entrusted all the powers of government. The court 
had its chairman, sheriff, and prosecuting attorney. 
The Articles made provision for recording deeds and 
wills, for licensing and solemnizing marriages, and for 
the performance of other necessary governmental func¬ 
tions. This government was not fully equipped, of 
course, and was crude in organization and method, but 
it was efficient and satisfactory. In 1775 the Watauga 
and Nollichucky settlements united in a new organiza¬ 
tion, which they called Washington District. North 
Carolina had joined the other provinces in the revolt 
against England, and had been divided, recently, into a 
number of Districts, for each of which a committee of 
safety of thirteen members had been appointed. The 
Tennessee settlers had no authority for establishing 
Washington District, but they followed the plan adopted 
elsewhere in the Province, and appointed a committee of 
thirteen, and assigned to it the functions of the other 
regularly appointed committees of safety. In 1776 
Washington District, upon its own application, was rec¬ 
ognized by North Carolina as a division of the State. 



PIONEER AND TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENTS. 3 

Cumberland. — The next experiment in civil govern¬ 
ment, in Tennessee, was made at Nashville, in the Cum¬ 
berland settlement, in 1780. Nashville was two hundred 
miles west of Watauga, and remote from any other set¬ 
tlement. Conditions required local government of some 
kind, and in the spring of 1780 the people organized a 
temporary one, at the head of which was a court of 
twelve judges, elected upon the principle of representa¬ 
tion. This court had the same general powers that the 
Watauga court possessed, with others added to meet 
local conditions. A copy of the Cumberland Compact 
was preserved, and it is an admirable document in every 
way. The government was essentially democratic, the 
electors having the right, at any time, to remove their 
judges and elect new ones. The judicial system com¬ 
prised a court of original jurisdiction and an appellate 
court, and seems to have been copied from the court sys¬ 
tem of the Royal Province of North Carolina, and not 
from that of the State of North Carolina. The Compact 
acknowledged the sovereignty of North Carolina, and 
the laws and procedure adopted under it were, naturally, 
taken from that State. The government seems to have 
been somewhat less vigorous than that of Watauga, and 
to have been abandoned to a large extent during a period 
of Indian wars, although it was afterward renewed. In 
the year 1783 the Cumberland settlements were admit¬ 
ted into the State of North Carolina as the County of 
Davidson. 

The State of Franklin. —In 1784 the State of North 
Carolina ceded to the Confederation the territory now 
composing Tennessee upon the condition that the gift 


4 


THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


be accepted within two years. The Cession Act pro¬ 
vided that the jurisdiction of North Carolina should con¬ 
tinue during these two years. The Tennessee settlers 
had been dissatisfied with the government of North Car¬ 
olina, which had never given them a complete civil or 
military organization, and, not without cause, were 
incensed by the Cession Act. There were now four 
organized counties in the Tennessee country, Washing¬ 
ton, Greene, and Sullivan, in East Tennessee, and David¬ 
son, in Middle Tennessee. Soon after the passage of the 
Cession Act the East Tennessee settlers determined to 
form an independent State. The Davidson County or 
Cumberland settlers did not join in the movement, being 
but little affected by the Cession. Beginning in August, 
1784, several conventions were held by representatives 
of the three East Tennessee counties, and finally a con¬ 
stitution was adopted for the State of Franklin, com¬ 
posed of Washington, Sullivan, and Greene counties. It 
is not necessary to consider here the efforts to extend the 
limits of the new State beyond the present boundaries of 
Tennessee. 

The Constitution was not substantially different from 
that of North Carolina, so that in so far as Franklin had 
any institutions, they were not different in substance 
from those previously existing. A vigorous effort to 
adopt a new and experimental Constitution failed. The 
State of North Carolina, in advance of the adoption of 
a permanent constitution by Franklin, repealed the Ces¬ 
sion Act, but the repeal failed to satisfy the people, who, 
under a temporary constitution, had elected a Legisla¬ 
ture which had been active in law making. The history 
of Franklin after the repeal of the Cession Act is one of 


PIONEER AND TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENTS. 5 

factional quarrels. John Sevier was the Governor, and 
at the end of his term, in the spring of 1788, Franklin 
ceased to exist even in name, and its people recognized 
the authority of North Carolina. 

Two Little Republics. —We have seen that the Cum¬ 
berland settlers did not join the State of Franklin, but, 
probably on account of the Cession Act, the settlers at 
Clarksville, on the Cumberland River below Nashville, 
in 1785 held a convention of eleven persons, and set up 
an independent and very small government, which lasted 
more than two years. 

Under the government of Franklin the settlements in 
the Holston Valley were extended and new counties 
formed. One of the new settlements was south of the 
French Broad and Pigeon rivers and beyond the limits 
of any county established by North Carolina. When 
Franklin ceased to exist this settlement was without gov¬ 
ernment of any kind, and was in the Indian country, and 
therefore, in 1788, following the Watauga and Cumber¬ 
land plans, it established a little republic, which was 
maintained until 1790, when Tennessee became a terri¬ 
tory of the United States. 

Tennessee a Territory. — On the 25th of February, 
1790, six years after the cession to the Confederation, 
North Carolina conveyed Tennessee to the United States. 
The gift was accepted, and in May, 1790, the ceded ter¬ 
ritory was organized as the “ Territory of the United 
States south of the River Ohio.” The form of govern¬ 
ment theretofore established by Congress for the terri¬ 
tory north of the Ohio was extended to the new 


6 


THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


Territory. The executive .head was a governor, and 
William Blount, of North Carolina, held that office 
throughout the existence of the Territory. Associated 
with him were three judges, and at first the Governor 
and the judges exercised all the functions of govern¬ 
ment. The law provided, however, that when there 
should be 5,000 voters in the Territory it should be en¬ 
titled to a legislature, and the required population was 
reached in 1794. The Legislature consisted of the Gov¬ 
ernor, an elective body known as the Assembly, and 
chosen upon the basis of one member for each 500 voters, 
and a Legislative Council of five members, appointed by 
the President of the United States. The Cession Act of 
1796 provided that the laws of North Carolina should 
remain in force in the Territory until repealed by the 
Legislature, so that both the State of Franklin and the 
Territory south of the River Ohio retained substantially 
all the institutions of North Carolina and were governed 
by the laws of that State. The Territorial Legislature 
made very few changes in the laws, and when Tennessee 
became a State in 1796 these laws were, as a rule, still 
in force, and continued in force under the State govern¬ 
ment of Tennessee, many of them being in existence till 
this day. 

Character of the Pioneers. — A study of the pioneer 
history of Tennessee shows the people to have been intel¬ 
ligent, brave, self-reliant, and intensely patriotic. They 
were among the most advanced and stanchest democrats 
in America at the time of the Revolution, and lost no 
opportunity to proclaim or to prove their patriotism. 


CHAPTER II. 


TENNESSEE CONSTITUTIONS. 

The Constitution of 1796. — Congress had provided that 
whenever the territory south of the River Ohio should 
have a free population of 60,000 the Governor should 
call a convention to prepare a State Constitution. In 
July, 1795, a census was taken by order of the Legisla¬ 
ture, and it was found that the territory had the re¬ 
quired population. Thereupon the convention was 
ordered and members elected, who assembled at Knox¬ 
ville, January 11, 1796, and concluded their labors on 
the 8th of February. On the 23d of March following 
the State Legislature met, enacted divers laws, and 
elected two United States Senators. But as the State 
was not admitted to the Union until three months later, 
the Senators were again elected. In Congress, and espe¬ 
cially in the Senate, there was opposition to the admis¬ 
sion of the State. Finally, however, the bill was passed 
and was approved by President Washington, June 1, 
1796. The Constitution of 1796 was based upon the 
North Carolina Constitution of 1776, with a few pro¬ 
gressive and democratic amendments. North Carolina 
was altogether an English colony so far as its institu¬ 
tions are concerned. It was a proprietary colony, owned 
and controlled by a corporation of English noblemen 
until 1729, when it became a royal colony, governed 

7 


8 


THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


directly by the crown. In 1776 it adopted a State Con¬ 
stitution, which made very few changes in the form of 
government or in the laws. The State of North Carolina 
was, therefore, legally and institutionally a sort of demo¬ 
cratic England, and as its laws and institutions passed 
almost unchanged to Tennessee, which has always been 
conservative, this State in its institutional history pre¬ 
sents as good an example as can be found anywhere of 
the evolution of the free principles of the English Con¬ 
stitution. The Constitution makers of 1796 were, per¬ 
haps, excessively conservative, and manifested the same 
distrust of the common people which appears in so many 
of the other early state Constitutions, and in certain 
respects in the Federal Constitution. Property quali¬ 
fications were prescribed for voting and for holding the 
more important offices. The Legislature elected judges, 
attorneys general, and justices of the peace, while 
county courts, composed of the justices of the peace, 
elected sheriffs, trustees, constables, and coroners. The 
Constitution of 1796 was conspicuously defective in 
failing to provide a permanent court system, and in 
adopting a method of taxation of lands, which, while 
not particularly objectionable in 1796, became eventually, 
by reason of changed conditions, positively vicious. 

There were other defects, as we now see, but the Con¬ 
stitution continued in force for thirty-eight years, and 
under it the State made great progress. No election was 
held to enable the people of the State to pass upon this 
Constitution. 

The Constitution of 1834. — For at least ten years be¬ 
fore the adoption of the Constitution of 1834 there were 


TENNESSEE CONSTITUTIONS. 


9 


frequent expressions of dissatisfaction with the Consti¬ 
tution of 1796, and between 1820 and 1834 several at¬ 
tempts were made to call a constitutional convention. 
Finally, in 1834, the convention was ordered and met 
at Nashville on the 19th of May of that year. Its jour¬ 
nal shows that this body attributed much importance to 
the establishment of a proper judiciary system. Under 
the old Constitution the Legislature made and unmade 
courts at will, and the result was much confusion of 
jurisdiction and delay of justice. The new Constitution 
established distinct and separate legislative, executive, 
and judicial departments. It vested the judicial power 
of the State in one supreme court, and such inferior 
courts as the Legislature should from time to time estab¬ 
lish. The unjust and unequal clauses in the first Con¬ 
stitution in the matter of land taxation were replaced 
by a provision that all taxation should be equal and uni¬ 
form. Property qualifications for voting and holding 
office were abolished, and many of the offices which, 
under the first Constitution, had been filled by the Legis¬ 
lature or by the county courts, were now filled by vote 
of the people. An abuse which had grown up under the 
Constitution of 1796 was special legislation, which was 
forbidden by the Constitution of 1834. Under the Con¬ 
stitution of 1796 divorces had been granted by the Legis¬ 
lature, but the Constitution of 1834 very wisely ordered 
that they be granted only by the courts. The Constitu¬ 
tion of 1834 declared in favor of internal improvements, 
and in consequence of this the State gave much aid to 
internal improvements from 1834 to 1861 and from 
1865 to 1869, and thus created a State debt from which it 
has not yet been relieved. Judges and attorneys general 


IO 


THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


were first elected under the Constitution of 1834 by 
the Legislature, the judges for twelve years and the 
attorneys general for six years, but in 1853 the Con¬ 
stitution was so amended as to allow the people to elect 
the judges for eight years and the attorneys for six 
years. 

In 1861 Tennessee seceded from the Union, and such 
parts of the Constitution as recognized the Constitution 
of the United States as the supreme law of the land, and 
as regulated relations between Tennessee and the Fed¬ 
eral Union, were declared void. In 1865 a Union con¬ 
vention met at Nashville, and adopted an amendment to 
the Constitution of the State abolishing slavery, and a 
schedule which, among other things, nullified the act of 
the State in seceding and in connecting itself with the 
Confederate States. The amendment promulgated by 
this convention was approved at an election at which only 
the Union men were allowed to vote, and they were de¬ 
clared effective by Andrew Johnson, Military Governor 
of Tennessee, on the 25th day of February, 1865. From 
March, 1862, until April, 1865, Tennessee was under 
military government. 

The Constitution of 1834 was ratified at an election, 
and was an admirable instrument, thoroughly adapted to 
the needs of the State at that time. 

The Constitution of 1870. — The third constitutional 
convention met in 1870, and revised the Constitution of 
1834, making very few changes of importance. The 
Constitution of 1834 followed the plan of the Constitu¬ 
tion of 1796, but made a number of important and 
salutary changes, which were demanded by new social 


TENNESSEE CONSTITUTIONS. 


II 


and industrial conditions, but the convention of 1870 
was conservative and cautious, and the present Constitu¬ 
tion varies very little from that of 1834, as it was 
amended in 1853 and in 1865. Its more important pro¬ 
visions will be pointed out in the following chapters. 


CHAPTER III. 


STATE GOVERNMENT.—THE LEGISLATURE. 

The Constitution of Tennessee is composed of a pre¬ 
amble, which is a short historical statement; of eleven 
subdivisions called Articles; and of a schedule, composed 
of certain temporary provisions. The first Article is 
called the Declaration of Rights, and consists mainly of 
brief statements of fundamental and general principles. 
It sets out also the boundaries of the State. The second 
Article declares that “ the powers of the government 
shall be divided into three different departments: the 
legislative, executive, and judicial,” and directs that no 
person belonging to one of these departments shall exer¬ 
cise any of the powers belonging to either of the others, 
except where specially allowed to do so by the Constitu¬ 
tion. The remainder of this Article is devoted to the 
legislative department. 

The legislative authority of the State is vested in a 
“ General Assembly,” consisting of a Senate and a House 
of Representatives, whose members are elected by the 
people for a term of two years, counting from the first 
Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 1872. The 
Assembly meets biennially on the first Monday in January. 
Every ten years a census is taken, according to which 
members of the Assembly are apportioned among the 
counties and districts of the State. There cannot be more 
than ninety-nine Representatives or more than thirty- 


12 


STATE GOVERNMENT.—THE LEGISLATURE. 


3 


three Senators. Since 1902 both Houses have had the 
maximum number of members. Senators must be thirty 
years of age and Representatives twenty-one years of 
age. No Senator or Representative can be appointed 
during the term for which he is elected to any office or 
place of trust filled by appointment of the Governor, or 
by vote of the General Assembly, except the office of 
trustee of a literary institution. 

Organization and Procedure. — The presiding officer of 
each House of the General Assembly is called the 
“ Speaker,” and is elected by the members. The other 
officers are the chaplain, clerks, sergeant-at-arms, and 
doorkeeper. In each House a quorum to do business 
consists of two-thirds of all the members. Each House 
makes its own rules, and is the judge of the qualifica¬ 
tions <md election of its members. During the sessions 
of the Assembly or while traveling to and from its meet¬ 
ings members cannot be arrested, except for treason, 
felony, or breach of the peace. Neither House can ad¬ 
journ for more than three days, or to any other place 
than Nashville, the State Capital, without the consent 
of the other House. Vacancies occurring in either House 
are filled by elections ordered by the Governor. 

Law Making. — A proposed law when presented to the 
Legislature is called a bill. These bills may originate in 
either House, but can be amended, altered, or rejected by 
the other, and none can become a law which embraces 
more than one subject, that subject to be expressed in 
the title. Every bill must be read once on three different 
days, and passed each time in the House where it origi- 


1 4 


THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


nated, and must then be read and passed in like manner 
in the other House, and cannot become a law unless it 
shall have received on its final passage the assent of a 
majority of all the members of each House. After hav¬ 
ing been thus passed, it must be signed by-the respective 
speakers of the two Houses in open session, and approved 
by the Governor or passed over his veto. After a bill 
has been rejected no bill containing the same substance 
can be passed at the same session. A general law takes 
effect forty days after passage, unless it be specified in 
the bill that the public welfare requires it to take effect 
sooner. Each House keeps a journal of its proceedings, 
which is printed, and is distributed over the State, after 
adjournment. The ayes and noes are taken in each House 
upon the final passage of bills, and at the request of any 
five members are entered upon the journal. The doors of 
each House and of all committees are to be kept open, 
except during the transaction of business which for some 
good reason should be kept secret. 

Compensation of Members. — Members of both Houses 
are allowed four dollars a day, and four dollars for each 
twenty-five miles traveled to and from the State Capital; 
but no member can be paid for more than seventy-five 
days of a regular session, or for more than twenty days 
of any extra or called session. But the Senate being the 
body before which impeachments of State officers are 
tried, its members are allowed four dollars for each day 
of actual attendance upon an impeachment trial. 

Appropriations. — No money can be drawn from the 
State Treasury except in pursuance of laws made by the 


STATE GOVERNMENT.—THE LEGISLATURE. 15 

General Assembly, and at each session the Assembly 
passes what is known as the Appropriation Act, which 
provides for operating the State Government for the 
next two years. The financial officers of the State are 
required to prepare and publish every two years, with the 
laws published by the Legislature, correct statements of 
the public moneys received and expended by them. A 
very wise provision is that no person who has been or 
may hereafter be a collector or holder of public moneys 
shall hold any office in the State government until he 
shall have accounted for and paid into the treasury all 
sums for which he may be held accountable. 

General Powers and Restrictions. — The General As¬ 
sembly has power to pass all laws not in conflict with the 
Constitution of the State or of the United States. Among 
the powers forbidden it in the Constitution are the fol¬ 
lowing : It cannot tax one species of property higher than 
any other species of the same value; it cannot authorize 
a city, town, or county to lend its credit to any person, 
company, or corporation, except after an election held 
by the qualified voters of such city, town, or county, and 
the assent of two-thirds of the votes cast at such elec¬ 
tion ; it cannot tax any article manufactured of the 
produce of the State, except for the purpose of paying 
inspection fees; it cannot lend the credit of the State to 
any person, company, or corporation, or municipality, or 
make it a stockholder or owner in any company. 


CHAPTER IV. 

STATE GOVERNMENT.—EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Election and Qualifications of Governor. — The supreme 
executive power of the State is vested in a Governor, 
who is chosen every two years by the electors of members 
of the General Assembly, and at the same time with 
members of the General Assembly. His salary is $4,000 
a year. If there be more than two candidates for the 
office, the one receiving the highest number of votes is 
declared elected, and if two or more “ shall be equal and 
highest in votes,” one of them is elected by the joint 
votes of both Houses of the Assembly. If the election 
of the Governor be contested, thp contest is determined 
by the joint vote of both Houses. The Governor must 
be thirty years of age. He holds his office for two years, 
and until his successor shall be elected and qualified, and 
he cannot be elected for more than six years in any term 
of eight years. 

Veto. — We have seen that no bill can become a law 
until signed and approved by the Governor. If the Gov¬ 
ernor refuse to sign the bill, he returns it, with his 
objections thereto in writing, to the House in which it 
originated, and that House causes the objections to be 
entered upon its journal, and proceeds to reconsider the 
bill. If a majority of all the members of both Houses 
vote for the bill, it becomes a law, notwithstanding the 
veto of the Governor. If the Governor fail to return the 
bill within five days (Sunday excepted), after it shall 

16 


STATE GOVERNMENT.—EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 17 

have been presented to him, it becomes a law without his 
signature, except when the General Assembly shall have 
adjourned within the five days thus allowed the Governor. 

Powers and Duties of the Governor. — The Governor is 
Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy of the State 
and of the militia, except when called into the service of 
the United States. He may call the militia into the 
service of the State in case of rebellion or invasion, pro¬ 
vided the General Assembly shall declare by law that the 
public safety requires it. He is authorized to grant re¬ 
prieves and pardons to convicted criminals, except in 
cases of impeachment. He may convoke the General 
Assembly in special session by proclamation, stating the 
purpose for which it is convoked; he may require infor¬ 
mation in writing from officers in the executive depart¬ 
ment upon any subject relating to their duties. In gen¬ 
eral, he is required to take care that the laws are faith¬ 
fully executed. When any officer whose appointment is 
vested in the General Assembly by the Constitution 
dies during the recess of the Assembly, or the office 
for any other reason becomes vacant, the Governor has 
power to fill such vacancy until the end of the next ses¬ 
sion of the Legislature. All grants and commissions are 
issued by the Governor and attested by the great seal of 
the State. No member of Congress, or person holding 
any office under the United States, or the State of Ten¬ 
nessee, can be Governor. In case of the removal of the 
Governor from office, or his death or resignation, the 
office devolves, first, upon the Speaker of the Senate, 
and second, upon the Speaker of the House of Represent¬ 
atives. 


.18 


THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


Secretary of State. — The Secretary of State is elected 
by the Legislature for a term of four years, with an 
annual salary of $3,000. He is required to keep a register 
of the acts of the Assembly, to preserve and to publish 
them, to make out the commissions of all other State offi¬ 
cers, and attach the great seal of the State to them, to reg¬ 
ister the charters of corporations, and to “ perform such 
other duties as may be enjoined on him by law.” He is 
ex officio a member of the Board of Trustees of the State 
University, and of certain other boards created by law in 
different departments of the State government. 

Treasurer.— The duties of the Treasurer are perhaps 
sufficiently indicated by his title. He is elected by the 
Legislature for a term of two years, at a salary of $3,500 
a year, but he is also ex officio State Insurance Commis¬ 
sioner, in which capacity he receives an additional salary 
of $1,500 a year. As Treasurer he is the custodian of 
the money of the State, which he deposits in banks which 
he and the Comptroller consider safe. He is required to 
publish quarterly, under oath, a statement of all moneys 
received and disbursed by him during the preceding three 
months. He is forbidden to “ pay any money on account 
of the public, but on a warrant from the Comptroller of 
the Treasury, except the salary of said Comptroller.” 

As Insurance Commissioner it is his duty to see that 
all insurance companies doing business in the State com¬ 
ply with the law, and that they are solvent and able to 
meet their obligations. 

Comptroller. — The Comptroller of the Treasury is 
elected by the Legislature for a term of two years, at a 


STATE GOVERNMENT.—EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 19 

salary of $ 3,975 a year. This important office is designed 
to aid the Treasurer, and at . the same time to be a check 
upon his transactions. All claims against the State treas¬ 
ury must be examined and approved by the Comptroller, 
and, as we have seen, paid upon his warrant. He is 
charged with many important duties in connection with 
the collection of State taxes, the prosecution of delin¬ 
quent claims, the appointment of agents, etc. All moneys 
collected by him are paid into the treasury. This office 
was created in 1835. 

Revenue Agents. — The most important officers ap¬ 
pointed by the Comptroller are three State Revenue 
Agents, one for each of the grand divisions. These 
agents are paid in fees, not more than $2,500 a year. 
They examine the accounts of all the inferior officers who 
receive State revenues, and require them to perform their 
duties. They also institute proceedings to correct inade¬ 
quate assessments for taxation, and for the assessment of 
property that has escaped taxation. 

Commissioner of Agriculture. — An important State offi¬ 
cer is the Commissioner of Agriculture, who is appointed 
by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Sen¬ 
ate, for a term of two years, and receives a salary of 
$2,500 a year. He has three assistants, who are paid 
$1,000 a year each. The law also provides for a live¬ 
stock commissioner, who is a member of the department 
of agriculture, and receives a salary of $1,500 a year. 
In the same department is the State Veterinarian, who 
receives $6 a day while actually working. The general 


20 


THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


duties of the department of agriculture are to promote 
the farming interests of the State. 

Commissioner of Labor. — There is a department of the 
State government styled “ The Bureau of Labor and 
Mining Statistics,” under the control of a Commissioner 
appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, at a salary of $1,800 a year. Under his 
direction is a shop and factory inspector, who receives 
$1,200 a year. The Commissioner must keep at his office 
maps and plans of all the mines being worked in the 
State, and every three months he must inspect all mines 
and collieries and see that they comply with the law. 
Annually the Commissioner reports to the Governor, and 
for general distribution, statistics and details relating to 
labor and the mines in the State. 

Railroad Commissioners. —There are three railroad 
commissioners, whose term of office is six years. They 
are a dissolving board, one member retiring at the end 
of each two years. They are elected by the people, and 
receive a salary of $2,000 a year. Their principal duty 
is to assess railroad property for taxation and to super¬ 
vise railroad rates within the State so as to prevent unjust 
discrimination and exorbitant charges. 

The State Board of Health. _ There is a State Board 
of Health, composed of five physicians and two other 
persons “ connected with the commerce and transporta¬ 
tion of the country.” Three of the physicians must re¬ 
side in Middle Tennessee, and one in each of the other 
grand divisions. The members of this board receive no 
salary, but the secretary is paid $2,000 a year, and is 


STATE GOVERNMENT.—EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 21 

allowed $1,200 a year as clerk hire. This board is 
charged with the protection of the public health, and 
under prescribed conditions has the right to declare 
quarantine at any place in the State and its members re¬ 
ceive compensation when actually working to suppress or 
prevent epidemics. 

The Governor’s Staff. — The adjutant general is the 
chief of staff of the Governor, by whom he is appointed, 
and at whose pleasure he holds his office. He must reside 
at the State Capital. He is charged with the custody of 
all military stores and equipment, and supervises the or¬ 
ganization and conduct of the militia of the State. Other 
members of the staff are the quartermaster general, 
commissary general, surgeon general, judge advocate 
general, and inspector of rifle practice, each with the 
rank of brigadier general, and a colonel for each con¬ 
gressional district. 

State Librarian. — Before the Civil War the State had 
the beginnings of an excellent library, and it has now a 
collection of books of great value. The State librarian 
is elected by a commission composed of the Governor, 
the attorney general, and the chief justice of the su¬ 
preme court. The term of office is four years, and the 
salary $1,000 a year, with an allowance of $500 a year 
for an assistant librarian. 

In addition to the departments and officers named 
above there are certain bodies created by law to perform 
minor executive duties. Among them are the board of 
pharmacy, the board of medical examiners, and the board 
of charities. 


CHAPTER V. 


STATE GOVERNMENT.—JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

Under the present Constitution the judicial power of 
this State is vested in “ one supreme court, and in such 
circuit, chancery, and other inferior courts as the Leg¬ 
islature shall, from time to time, ordain and establish, 
in the judges thereof, and in justices of the peace.” The 
Legislature is further authorized to create corporation 
courts, and define their jurisdiction; also courts to be 
held by the justices of the peace. All judges in Ten¬ 
nessee are elected by the people, and are required to be 
thirty years of age. 

The Supreme Court. — The supreme court consists of 
five judges, not more than two of whom can be chosen 
from any one of the grand divisions of the State. They 
are elected by the qualified voters of the State for a term 
of eight years, at a salary of $3,500 a year each. They 
select one of their own number to preside over the court, 
with the title of chief justice, but with no additional 
compensation or powers. The jurisdiction of this court 
is entirely appellate—that is to say, suits must be brought 
up to it by appeals from lower courts. In no case can it 
render a decision without the concurrence of three of the 
judges. The supreme court sits at Knoxville for East 


22 


STATE GOVERNMENT.—JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 23 

Tennessee, at Nashville for Middle Tennessee, and at 
Jackson for West Tennessee, and the judges appoint a 
clerk for each of these places, who holds his office for six 
years and is paid by the fees of the office. All cases, civil 
and criminal, without regard to the amount involved, may 
be appealed to the supreme court. 

Attorney General and Reporter. — An important mem¬ 
ber of the judicial department is the attorney general 
and reporter for the State, who is appointed by the 
judges of the supreme court and represents the State in 
all suits which are not by law assigned to district attor¬ 
neys or special counsel. 

His salary is $3,000 a year, but he has the important 
duty of publishing in book form the opinions of the su¬ 
preme court, and derives a profit from the sale of the 
books, the copyright to which belongs to him for five 
years and then reverts to the State. 

The Court of Chancery Appeals. — Next in dignity to 
the supreme court is the court of chancery appeals, com¬ 
posed of three judges. This court is now elected for the 
same term, and its members receive the same salary as 
those of the supreme court. The clerks of the supreme 
court are also its clerks. As its name indicates, it hears 
appeals, but only in cases originating in the chancery 
court. It passes upon questions of law and of fact, but, 
upon questions of law, its opinion may be reviewed by 
the supreme court, while upon questions of fact they are 
conclusive. This court is authorized to sit at Knoxville, 
Nashville, and Jackson, and also in its discretion at Mem¬ 
phis and Chattanooga. 


24 


THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


The Circuit Court. — In England, and in the United 
States, wherever the common law of England has been 
recognized or adopted, the court which is known in Ten¬ 
nessee as the circuit court is the court of general juris¬ 
diction—that is to say, all cases come before it which are 
not by legislation assigned to other courts of original 
jurisdiction. It is sometimes spoken of as the common 
law court, because, except where modified or repealed, 
the common law and the common law practice prevail in 
it. In Tennessee it is presided over by an officer known 
as the circuit judge, who is elected by the people of the 
circuit for a term of eight years, at a salary of $2,500 a 
year. It has jurisdiction of criminal cases, except in 
counties which have a special criminal court. No civil 
suits can be tried originally in it unless the amount in¬ 
volved be as much as $50, but civil cases involving a 
smaller amount may be appealed to it from the justices’ 
courts. It has concurrent civil jurisdiction with the 
chancery courts, except in cases involving unliquidated 
damages to person, property, or reputation, as to which 
its jurisdiction is exclusive. The circuit court meets 
quarterly in each county. 

Circuit Court Practice-Civil suits are begun in the 

circuit court by a writ issued from the clerks’ office, 
which is called a summons. After this summons is 
served on the defendant, the person who brings the suit 
and who is called the plantiff, files in the court, within a 
prescribed time, a statement of his case, which is called 
a declaration. Usually the defendant replies by what is 
called a plea, although other defences are available. 
When the case is tried the plaintiff may have a jury of 


STATE GOVERNMENT.—JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 25 

twelve men, if he calls for it. The evidence is presented 
before the judge and the jury; the judge instructs the 
jury as to the law and the jury passes upon the evidence. 
The verdict must be unanimous. The judge, for good 
cause, may set aside the verdict, or he may approve it. An 
appeal lies from this court to the supreme court. A clerk 
of the circuit court is elected by the people in each county 
in the circuit for four years, and is paid by the fees of 
the office. All criminal cases are tried before judge and 
jury, and it is not necessary to demand a jury. 

Criminal Courts. — In certain of the more populous 
counties special criminal courts have been created. These 
courts have the same criminal jurisdiction as the circuit 
courts in counties where there are no criminal courts. In 
addition to the judge and clerk, criminal courts, and cir¬ 
cuit courts retaining criminal jurisdiction, have an attor¬ 
ney general, who prosecutes all criminals in the name of 
the State, and in the administration of the criminal laws 
there is, in addition to the ordinary jury of twelve men, 
another body known as the grand jury, composed of 
thirteen men, whose duty it is to investigate all criminal 
charges privately before they are made public in court. 
The grand jury is not required to say with certainty that 
a man is guilty before he shall be arraigned in court, but 
is satisfied with proof which shows that probably the 
crime has been committed. Criminals may be arraigned 
in circuit or criminal courts in two ways: by indictment, 
which is a paper drawn and presented to the grand jury 
by the attorney general or by its presentment, which is 
the act of the grand jury upon its own motion. In 
certain matters it is the duty of the grand jury to summon 


2 6 


THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


witnesses and to inquire generally whether or not the law 
has been violated. This is called its inquisitorial power. 
A person once acquitted of a crime by a jury, on trial, 
cannot be tried again for the same crime; if convicted, he 
may appeal to the supreme court. 

District Attorneys. — The State is divided, as we have 
seen, into a number of judicial circuits, in each of which 
there is a circuit judge, who holds the circuit court in 
the counties composing the circuit. In each of these 
circuits there is a district attorney, elected by the people 
for a term of eight years at a salary of $2,500 a year. 
There are also certain special jurisdictions that have dis¬ 
trict attorneys. The district attorney has in his circuit 
the duties which correspond to those of the attorney gen¬ 
eral in the State at large. His principal occupation, of 
course, is the prosecution of criminals. 

The Chancery Court. — The chancery court is the court 
of equity. It appeared much later in English his¬ 
tory than the circuit or common law court. Broadly 
speaking, the circuit court administers the law without 
regard to consequences. Theoretically, at least, it en¬ 
forces contracts as they are written, no matter how great 
the injustice that may result. In all respects it is con¬ 
trolled by rigid rules of law and procedure. The result 
was, that many years ago in England, a new court was 
created, called the court of chancery, which was intended 
to correct mistakes, to prevent excessive hardships, and 
in general to enforce equity between parties where the 
common law courts were powerless to do so. The 
chancery court of Tennessee is very closely akin to the 
English court of chancery, and has, as we have seen, in 


STATE GOVERNMENT.—JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 27 

addition to equity jurisdiction, a concurrent jurisdiction 
with the common law court, except in a limited class of 
cases. The chancery court is a great favorite in all Eng¬ 
lish-speaking countries. Its presiding officer in Tennessee 
is a chancellor, and he is elected for a term of eight years, 
at a salary of $2,500. The only other officer of the court 
is known as the clerk and master, who is appointed by 
the chancellor in each county in his division, for a term 
of six years, and is paid by the fees of the office. The 
chancellor sits without a jury, except when a party calls 
for a jury trial upon a question purely of fact, and in 
such cases the jury can only advise the chancellor. All 
pleadings and all testimony must be in writing except 
when a jury hears oral proof. The pleadings, usually are 
the bill of complaint, and the answer stating the cause 
of action and the defenses, respectively. These are much 
longer than circuit court pleadings. Chancery divisions, 
like the circuits, are composed usually of a number of 
counties, but there are certain special chancery courts. 
The chancery court meets twice a year in each county. 

The County Court. — The county court is composed of 
all the justices of the peace in each county, and meets 
quarterly. Each county court has a chairman or a judge, 
who, during the recesses of the court, exercises certain 
of its functions, and to whom the law now entrusts inde¬ 
pendently many of the powers that formerly belonged to 
the entire court. The court has a clerk, elected by the 
people of the county every four years, and paid by the 
fees of the office. Guardians, administrators, and execu¬ 
tors are appointed or qualified in the county court, and 
all wills are preserved in the office of its clerk. 


28 


THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


The county court has executive, legislative, and judicial 
powers, the executive functions being performed mainly 
through the chairman or judge. Except where the law 
has been specially changed, it has exclusive charge of 
public roads, bridges, and ferries. It levies county taxes, 
selects jurors for the circuit and criminal courts, con¬ 
trols the finances of the county, and tries certain law¬ 
suits, such as those for the partition of lands, to sell 
lands of deceased persons to pay debts, etc. The most 
important duties of this court are those which pertain 
to it as the legislature of the county. As an institution 
it is very old, having come down to us from early Eng¬ 
lish times. It is recognized in the Constitution, and 
probably cannot be abolished; but the supreme court has 
held that its duties and powers can be prescribed by the 
Legislature. 

Justices Courts. — Each justice of the peace is a court 
of specified and limited powers, having jurisdiction ter¬ 
ritorially coextensive with his county. He hears criminal 
cases, and discharges the defendant when innocent, and 
binds him over to the circuit or criminal court when he 
is guilty, or probably guilty. 

In civil suits for the collection of money justices have 
jurisdiction of open accounts to the amount of $500, and 
of promissory notes to the amount of $1,000. 

Municipal Courts. — Each municipality or chartered 
town or city has the right to make laws called ordinances, 
which are effective within its own limits, and for the trial 
of offenses against these ordinances it has a court which 
is held usually by the mayor or the recorder. An appeal 


STATE GOVERNMENT.—JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 29 

lies from this court to the circuit court. The trial before 
the municipal court is a civil proceeding to collect a 
money penalty, and not a criminal case, although the de¬ 
fendant, if convicted, may be imprisoned until he pays 
his fine, or for a limited time. 

The Legislature may create other courts and prescribe 
their powers and duties, and several special law courts 
have been created at different times. The court of 
chancery appeals is not named or provided for in the 
Constitution, but was established by the exercise of this 
power of the General Assembly. 


CHAPTER VI. 


COUNTY AND CITY GOVERNMENT. 

The County. — The unit of government in Tennessee 
is the county. The counties vary in area and population, 
but no new county can be created of smaller area than 
275 square miles, or containing less than 700 male in¬ 
habitants over twenty-one years of age. No counties 
existing before the adoption of the present Constitution 
can be reduced to less than 500 square miles. There are 
certain exceptions to these statements which are unim¬ 
portant. No part of an old county can be taken to form 
part of a new one without the consent of two-thirds of 
the qualified voters of such part. For the administration 
of justice the State is divided into three grand divisions— 
the Eastern, the Middle, and the Western. There are 
now ninety-six counties in the State—thirty-five in East 
Tennessee, thirty-nine in Middle Tennessee, and twenty- 
two in West Tennessee. 

The Sheriff. — The governing body in the county is 
the county court, in its legislative and administrative 
capacity. But that court has been considered already in 
the chapter on the judicial department of the State gov¬ 
ernment. The chief executive officer of the county is the 
sheriff. This office is a very old one, and is derived 
from England through North Carolina. The sheriff 

30 


COUNTY AND CITY GOVERNMENT. 


31 


executes directly, or through his deputies, all writs of the 
courts held in the county; sees that all laws are obeyed; 
makes arrests in person or by deputy, and has charge of 
the county jail. He is elected by the people for a term 
of two years, and is paid by the fees of his office. He 
cannot be elected for more than six years in any term of 
eight years. 

Trustee. — The principal financial officer of the county 
is the trustee, who collects all county and State taxes, 
except certain specified ones that are collected by other 
officers. The trustee’s term of office is two years, and 
he is elected by the people and paid by the fees of his 
office. 

Register. — Every county has a register, whose duty it 
is to register in books kept for the purpose all convey¬ 
ances of property, including mortgages and deeds of 
trust, and also all charters of corporations. The regis¬ 
ter’s term of office is four years. He is elected by the 
people and is paid by the fees of his office. 

County Court Clerk. — The county court clerk has cer¬ 
tain duties that have not been mentioned in the chapter 
on the judicial department. He is required to make out 
and deliver to the trustee the tax books, or list of tax 
payers, and assessments; he collects privilege taxes due 
the State and county, and issues licenses to those who 
follow any business which is classed as a privilege. A 
privilege cannot be defined exactly, as the Legislature 
has almost unlimited power to declare an occupation a 
privilege and to exact a tax for following it. Nearly all 


32 


THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


commercial pursuits are privileges in Tennessee, but the 
professions are not licensed. 

Tax Assessor. — In certain counties there is a county tax 
assessor, who places upon all properties, real and per¬ 
sonal, the value at which they are to be taxed. He is 
elected by the people for four years, and receives a salary 
regulated with reference to the population of his county. 
In counties having no county assessor, each civil district 
elects its own assessor every four years. 

Civil Districts. — Every county is divided into civil 
districts, of which there cannot be more than twenty-five 
in any county. Each civil district has two justices of the 
peace, elected by the people of the district for a term of 
six years, and receiving no compensation except certain 
specified fees. There is also in each district a constable 
who is elected for two years. Civil districts, in which 
county towns are situated are entitled to three justices 
and two constables, and the legislators may provide for 
additional justices in corporated towns. The civil dis¬ 
trict has existed only since the adoption of the Constitu¬ 
tion of 1834. Before that time the county was sub¬ 
divided with reference to the militia organization, justices 
of the peace being elected from the territory assigned to 
each captain’s company. 

The Coroner. — The coroner is another official coming 
down from very early time in English history. In Ten¬ 
nessee there is one coroner in each county. In certain 
cases where the sheriff cannot act the coroner takes his 
place, but the principal duty of the coroner is to hold in- 


COUNTY AND CITY GOVERNMENT. 


33 

quests over the remains of persons who have met death by 
unlawful or apparently unlawful means. 

Ranger. — In early times in England, and also in our 
country, it was necessary to have an official to look after 
and apprehend domestic animals that had been lost or 
were accidentally or unlawfully at large in the county. 
This officer is still found in the counties of Tennessee, 
but is practically without duties. He is elected by the 
county court for a term of two years. 

Other County Officers. — Other county officers whose 
duties are sufficiently shown by their titles are: county 
surveyors, poor house commissioners, notaries public, 
public administrators and guardians, cotton and tobacco 
weighers, road commissioners, fish commissioners, game 
wardens, jail physicians, and keepers and sealers of 
weights and measures. All these are elected by the 
county court. It must be stated, however, that in the 
matter of road commissioners and road management the 
same laws do not prevail throughout the State, but it is 
not considered necessary to mention the differences. 

Municipal Corporations. — Municipal corporations, that 
is to say, towns or cities governing themselves under 
charters, are created in Tennessee in two ways, first by an 
act of the Legislature defining the territorial limits, and 
the rights and powers of the corporation; and second, by 
action of the people residing in the territory to be incor¬ 
porated, at an election, ordered and conducted as specified 
by the statutes of the State. The form of charter for 
municipalities created by the second method is prescribed 


34 


THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


by the statutes of the State. The first method is the one 
usually adopted. 

Power of the Legislature over Municipal Corporations.— 

Over corporations of both these classes the power of the 
Legislature is practically unlimited, and it may reduce or 
enlarge their limits and otherwise regulate them at will, 
provided, always, that it keeps within the Constitution. 

Governing Body in Municipal Corporations. — Ordinar¬ 
ily there is one governing body in municipal corporations, 
known as the city council. This is the law-making body, 
which passes the ordinances for the government of the 
city, and prescribes a penalty, which is always a fine, 
for violating them. Usually this body elects the admin¬ 
istrative and other officers of the city except the mayor. 
In certain cities there is a board of public works, whose 
members are chosen by the people. 

Mayor. — Generally speaking, the first constituent of 
the city council and the head of the government is the 
mayor, who presides over the meetings of the council, 
and is also the chief executive. His duties and powers, 
however, vary widely under different charters. 

Aldermen. — Cities are divided into wards, and each 
ward elects one or more aldermen, who, with the mayor, 
compose the city council. The aldermen are really the 
law-makers, as the mayor can vote only in case of a tie 
among the aldermen. The mayor usually has the power 
to veto ordinances which he thinks unlawful or unwise. 


COUNTY AND CITY GOVERNMENT. 35 

Recorder. — It is customary to have a city recorder, 
who, as his title implies, keeps the records of the city, 
and, in most cases, is the judge or justice of the city 
court. Sometimes he is also the financial officer of the 
city, although most cities have a treasurer or comptroller, 
and may have both. 

Other City Officers. — The organization of a municipal 
corporation usually comprises an engineer, a physician, 
an attorney, a board of education, and a board of health. 
Policemen and firemen are provided according to the 
needs or ability of the corporation. 


CHAPTER VII. 


SCHOOLS. 

The first institution of learning in the Mississippi 
Valley was established in what is now Washington 
County, Tennessee, in 1783, and it is claimed, and is 
probably true, that the first non-sectarian college in the 
United States was Blount College, which was established 
at Knoxville in 1794, and was the germ of the University 
of Tennessee. 

Common Schools. — The history of the common schools 
of Tennessee begins in 1806, and for half a century is a 
record of endeavor, often misdirected and unsuccessful, 
but, on the part of the people, always earnest. Almost 
every Legislature from 1806 to 1861 gave much atten¬ 
tion to the subject, and as early as 1838 the common 
schools were fairly prosperous and efficient. Between 
that time and the Civil War they encountered many 
vicissitudes. During the war they were, of course, sus¬ 
pended. The school fund which the State had accu¬ 
mulated was, by act of the Legislature, invested in the 
Bank of Tennessee, which, at the end of the Civil War, 
was insolvent, and the fund was lost. 

Pursuant to a provision of the Constitution of 1870, 
the Legislature of 1873, in order to make good the loss 

36 


SCHOOLS. 


37 


of the actual school fund, resorted to a salutary legal 
fiction, and created an imaginary one, by directing that 
the State’s certificate of indebtedness for $2,512,500 
should be issued in repayment of the fund. This cer¬ 
tificate represents the lost fund, with interest to the time 
of its issuance, and bears now six per cent, interest. The 
interest is paid semi-annually, and goes to the support of 
the schools; and this is their principal income from the 
State. Other sources of income are the State poll tax 
and the surplus remaining in the State treasury at the 
close of business on the first of January of each year. 

The present school system was created by law in 1873, 
and now includes primary, secondary, and high schools, 
and the University of Tennessee. By law the University 
grants free tuition to at least 275 students. The Peabody 
Normal College at Nashville is also, in a sense, a part of 
the public school system, as it receives State aid, and in 
return gives free instruction to a specified number of 
students. 

State Superintendent. — At the head of the common 
school organization is a State Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, who is appointed by the Governor and con¬ 
firmed by the Senate. His term of office is two years 
and his salary $2,000 a year, with traveling expenses 
added. He must be a “ person of literary and scientific 
attainments and skilled and experienced in the art of 
teaching.” He directs the county superintendents, super¬ 
vises the conduct of the entire State system, collects sta¬ 
tistics, and makes an annual report to the Governor. He 
is ex officio a member of the State Board of Education, 
and of all other State educational bodies and associations. 


38 


THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


County Superintendent. — Each county has its super¬ 
intendent of public instruction, who is elected by the 
county court for a term of two years, at a salary fixed 
by the court. Women are eligible to this office. 

School Districts and Directors. — The school districts 
are now identical with the civil districts except in cer¬ 
tain cases where special districts have been created by 
law. In each district three school directors are elected 
every two years. They select teachers, have custody of 
the school money of the district, take an annual scholas¬ 
tic census, and perform other duties prescribed by law. 

Teachers. — No one can be a teacher in a public school 
of a county who has not a certificate of qualification 
issued by the county superintendent. 

Pupils. — The public schools are open to all residents 
of the State between six and twenty-one years of age. 
White and colored children are taught in separate schools, 
but are entitled to share equally in all school funds. 

City Schools. — The schools in municipal corporations 
receive their proportion of the school fund, but are under 
the management, usually, of a city board of education 
and a city superintendent, and cities may levy additional 
school taxes. 

Text Book Commission. — An important addition was 
made to the school system in 1899 by the creation of a 
“ Text Book Commission ” for the selection of a uniform 
series of text books for the primary and secondary pub- 


SCHOOLS. 


39 


lie schools of the State and the high schools in cities. 
This commission is composed of the Governor, the State 
Superintendent, and three members of the State Board 
of Education. The commission is forbidden to select any 
book of a partisan or sectarian character. Results have 
justified the adoption of this law. Better books are ob¬ 
tained, and at lower prices than formerly. The list is 
revised every five years. 

State Board of Education. — There is a State Board 
of Education of six members, holding office for six years, 
but so constituted that two retire every second year. The 
Governor is ex officio a member of this board, which has 
the oversight of Normal schools, and is authorized to 
expend a specified amount annually for the support, in 
part, of the Peabody Normal College at Nashville. 

County Boards of Education. — Each county is author¬ 
ized to maintain one or more high schools, and for that 
purpose may levy a special tax as well as use the regular 
school funds not otherwise appropriated. The manage¬ 
ment of these high schools is vested in county boards of 
education, composed of seven members, six of whom are 
elected by the county court for a term of three years. 
The county superintendents are ex officio members and 
the secretaries of these boards, and the boards fix their 
compensation. 

University of Tennessee. — As already stated, the Uni¬ 
versity of Tennessee is required by law to accept at all 
times not less than 275 students, from the State, free of 
tuition, each State Senator being authorized to appoint 


40 


THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


two and each Representative three of these. This obli¬ 
gation rests on the University because, in 1869, it became 
the custodian of a fund provided by Congress for a pur¬ 
pose which is expressed in the following words: “ The 
endowment, support, and maintenance of at least one 
college where the leading object shall be, without exclud¬ 
ing other scientific and classical studies, and including 
military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are 
related to agriculture and the mechanic arts.” The Uni¬ 
versity is now one of the foremost institutions of learn¬ 
ing in the South, and has reached a high degree of effi¬ 
ciency in its agricultural and mechanical departments, to 
which it continues to give special and earnest attention. 
It cannot, under the law, omit other scientific studies or 
the classics, but, in keeping with the present tendencies 
in education, and in strict construction of the law, has 
severely limited instruction in the ancient languages. 

Educational Spirit in the State. — Ever since the Civil 
War the people of Tennessee have been earnest and self- 
sacrificing in their efforts in behalf of education. At 
present there is in the State a gratifying activity in edu¬ 
cational affairs which is the result of the hard work of 
the last thirty-five years, and of the more prosperous con¬ 
ditions now existing, and which insures to the State all 
the benefits of a modern and efficient system of educa¬ 
tion. The credit for this hopeful and satisfactory con¬ 
dition belongs wholly to the people of the State, and 
especially to the teachers, who for many years have 
worked under the most adverse conditions with unfailing 
loyalty. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


CHARITABLE AND PENAL INSTITUTIONS. 

School for the Blind. — The State School for the Blind 
is situated at Nashville and is one of the noblest charities 
of the State. It has more than two hundred pupils. It 
is managed by a board of seven trustees, who are de¬ 
clared by law to be a corporation, and who serve with¬ 
out compensation. The State owns the institution and 
all its property, and admits two free pupils from each 
Senatorial district and pays their expenses. Other stu¬ 
dents are admitted upon such terms as the trustees think 
proper. The State now appropriates to each free stu¬ 
dent $17.50 a month. 

Deaf and Dumb School. — The Tennessee Deaf and 
Dumb School is situated at Knoxville. It also is a 
corporation created by the State, which owns its prop¬ 
erty. It has thirteen trustees, who serve without com¬ 
pensation. It has over three hundred students. The 
law as to free students is the same as in the case of the 
blind school,'but in both institutions nearly all students 
are admitted free. The State allows $16.50 a month to 
each free student. 

Hospitals for the Insane. — The Central Hospital for 
the Insane is at Nashville and in the last twenty years 
branches have been established at Knoxville for East Ten- 


41 


42 


THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 


nessee, and at Bolivar for West Tennessee. Each of the 
three is controlled by a separate corporation composed of 
five members or trustees. Free patients are admitted on 
the basis of one for each 1,800 of the population of each 
county, and paying patients are admitted as provided by 
law. The State allows for each free patient $135 a year. 
In all these institutions white persons and negroes are 
provided for, separately, but with equal advantages. 

Industrial School. — In 1891 the State established an 
industrial school at Nashville for orphan, helpless, way¬ 
ward, and abandoned children. Pupils are admitted in 
two ways: By order of the judge or chairman of a 
county court free of charge, and on application of parents 
and payment of charges. The school is controlled by a 
board of seven directors, and the State appropriates $100 
a year for the support of each free pupil. The free pupils 
are apportioned among the counties according to scholas¬ 
tic population, and must be between the ages of eight 
and eighteen years. The counties are authorized to estab¬ 
lish similar schools, and some counties are conducting 
them successfully. 

Confederate Soldiers’ Home. — The property near Nash¬ 
ville known as the “ Hermitage,” the home of Andrew 
Jackson, belongs to the State, and in 1889 ^ ras conveyed 
by it to a board of nine trustees for a term of twenty- 
five years, to be used for the purpose of “ providing 
homes for indigent and disabled soldiers, who volunteered 
in the service of the State or Confederate States, their 
widows and orphan children.” The plantation thus con¬ 
veyed contains 500 acres, but the State reserves the con- 


CHARITABLE AND PENAL INSTITUTIONS. 


43 

trol of 25 acres, containing the residence and tomb of 
Jackson. 

Pensions. — By an act passed in 1891 the State pays 
pensions to disabled soldiers, Federal and Confederate, 
who enlisted in the Civil War from the State and in 
Tennessee regiments, or were citizens of the State when 
they enlisted elsewhere, and to others who do not meet 
these requirements but enlisted elsewhere and have re¬ 
sided in the State one year before making application. 
An exception is made of actual pensioners under the Fed¬ 
eral laws. The State is now appropriating $200,000 a 
year for pensions. 

These institutions have been considered in detail in 
order to show that the State charities are liberally sup¬ 
ported and are to be highly commended. 

Penal Institutions. — The State Penitentiary is near 
Nashville, where the State owns a large farm and a finely 
constructed and appointed building. In addition to this 
central prison there is a branch at Brushy Mountain, 
East Tennessee, where the State owns valuable coal 
mines, in which many convicts are worked profitably. 

Each county has its jail and usually a work-house also. 
Persons convicted of petty crimes are sentenced to the 
work-house, and in many counties are required to work 
on the public roads. 


CHAPTER IX. 


TAXATION. 

The subject of taxation is of sufficient importance to 
be treated separately, even in this short analysis, and in 
this matter, more, perhaps, than any other, improved and 
systematic procedure is needed in Tennessee. 

Constitutional Provisions. — The Constitution requires 
that: “ All property shall be taxed according to its value, 
that value to be ascertained in such manner as the Leg¬ 
islature shall direct, so that taxes shall be equal and uni¬ 
form throughout the State.” It is further declared that 
no species of property shall be taxed higher than any 
other species of the same value, but the Legislature shall 
have power to tax merchants, peddlers, and privileges in 
such manner as it may from time to time direct. The 
power is given the Legislature to tax incomes derived 
from stocks and bonds that are not taxed. All male citi¬ 
zens over twenty-one years of age, except such as may 
be exempted by law on account of age or infirmity, are 
required to pay a poll tax of not less than fifty cents or 
more than one dollar. Under the existing law liability 
for poll tax ceases at the age of fifty. The Legislature 
is given power to authorize counties and towns to levy 
taxes. 


44 




TAXATION. 


45 


Assessments Act. — It is customary, though not com¬ 
pulsory, for the Legislature to pass at each regular ses¬ 
sion an act providing for the assessment of all property 
within the State, which is usually entitled: “ An act to 
provide more just and equitable laws for the assessment 
and collection of revenue for State, county, and municipal 
purposes,” etc. These acts are sometimes hastily pre¬ 
pared, and it is submitted that a standing tax board or 
commission would be of service. The subject is one of 
great difficulty and importance, and requires careful and 
systematic attention. 

Assessments. — Assessments of real estate are now 
made every two years, and of personal property, privi¬ 
leges, and polls every year, all assessments of property 
being against the person owning the same on the ioth 
of January in the year in which the assessment is made. 
The law directs that all property be assessed at its actual 
cash value. 

Assessors. — We have seen that the assessments are 
made by county assessors in counties where such officers 
exist, and by district assessors elsewhere. These officers 
are all under bond for the faithful performance of their 
duties, and are required to subscribe to a stringent oath 
or affirmation. They are required to go upon the prem¬ 
ises to assess real estate, and to get from each tax payer 
personally a statement of all his property of every kind. 
The tax payer is furnished a schedule, upon which he 
must set out all his property, and this must be verified 
by an oath. It is said that this provision of the law is 
frequently violated, and that many persons otherwise 


46 THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 

honorable are guilty of the wrong of withholding per¬ 
sonal property from taxation. This, however, is not 
peculiar to Tennessee. 

Corporations. — Corporations are taxed upon the actual 
cash value of their properties, including franchises, etc., 
at an amount not less than the aggregate actual cash 
value of its shares of stock and bonded debt, and this 
provision is exceedingly difficult to understand and apply. 

Merchants. — A merchant pays taxes on the capital in¬ 
vested in his business, but that capital will not be treated 
as less than the average amount of stock on hand during 
the preceding year; that is to say, he is taxed on capital 
invested, or on average stock, whichever is the larger. 

Reassessments. — Property assessed too low may, 
within a prescribed time, be reassessed by the proper offi¬ 
cers on application of the revenue agents or of certain 
other specified officers. 

Lien for Taxes. — Assessed taxes on real and personal 
property are a lien on the property until paid, or barred 
by the statute of limitations, which is fixed by the Legis¬ 
lature from time to time. 

Boards of Equalization. — There is a State Board of 
Equalization, and in each county a county board of 
equalization. 

The State Board of Equalization is now composed of 
the Secretary of State, the Treasurer, and the Comptrol¬ 
ler. It sits at Nashville once every two years for the 
purpose of equalizing all assessments of property for the 


TAXATION. 


4 7 


year in which the session is held. At these sessions it 
has power to reduce or increase values of all property 
within the State (except certain railroad, telegraph, and 
telephone property) by the standard of the actual cash 
value of the same. This board also hears appeals in cases 
involving the back taxation or the reassessment of 
property. 

County boards of equalization are composed of five 
freeholders, who are elected by the county courts each 
year at their April session, whose duty it is to examine, 
compare, and equalize the county assessments. 

Collectors. — The county court clerk collects taxes on 
privileges and merchants, and the trustee the other taxes. 

Delinquent Taxes. — The law fixes a time when all 
taxes become due, and if not paid when due a penalty 
of one per cent, a month is added to the amount until it 
is paid or until the property is sold under legal process. 
If the property is real estate, it is sold by the trustee, and 
title made by the circuit court. The land may be re¬ 
deemed by the owner within two years. Delinquent per¬ 
sonal property taxes are collected by levying a distress 
warrant upon the property and selling it. 

Exemptions. — The law exempts from taxation one 
thousand dollars of personal property in the hands of 
each tax payer resident in the State, also all property of 
the State, and of the United States; property of religious 
and charitable institutions which is unimproved or which 
if improved is not used in competition with any secular 
business; cemeteries, growing crops, and manufactured 


48 THE GOVERNMENT OF TENNESSEE. 

articles from the produce of the State in the hands of the 
manufacturers. 

Revenue Bills. — Along with the assessment act the 
Legislature passes an “ Act to provide revenue for the 
State, the counties, and the municipalities.” This act 
fixes the tax rate for the State and the limits within 
which counties and cities may levy taxes. The larger 
part of the act consists of a declaration of what shall be 
deemed privileges and the rates at which they shall be 
taxed. 

Railroad, Telegraph, and Telephone Companies.— Rail¬ 
road, telegraph, and telephone companies pay taxes on 
their properties according to their value, to the State and 
to the counties and cities in which they are located, and, 
in addition, pay privilege taxes to the State alone. All 
taxes against these companies are assessed by the Rail¬ 
road Commissioners, and taxes due from them to the 
State are collected by the Comptroller. 

Charters and Foreign Corporations. — Corporations tak¬ 
ing out charters in Tennessee must pay, in addition to 
certain other fees, a privilege tax of one-tenth of one per 
cent, on capital stock. 

This important subject cannot be treated adequately in 
such limited space, but probably this sketch will convey 
a fair understanding of the principles upon which taxes 
are levied and assessed and the methods by which they 
are collected in Tennessee. 


INDEX 


Aldermen, 34. 

Assessments, 45. 

Assessments Act, 45. 

Assessors, 45. 

Attorney General and Reporter, 23. 

Blount, William, 6. 

Cession Act of 1796, 6. 

Chancery Court, 26. 

Chartered Taxation, 48. 

Circuit Court, 24. 

Circuit Court Practice, 24. 

City Officers, 35. 

City Schools, 38. 

Civil Districts, 32. 

Commissioner of Agriculture, 19. 
Commissioner of Labor, 20. 
Comptroller, 18. 

Confederate Soldiers’ Home, 42. 
Constitution (the) of 1796, 7. 
Constitution (the) of 1834, 8, 9. 
Constitution (the) of 1870, 10. 
Coroner (the), 32. 

County (the), 30. 

County Court, 27. 

County Court Clerk, 31. 

County Officers, 33. 

Court of Chancery Appeals, 23. 
Criminal Court, 25. 

Cumberland Compact, 3. 
Cumberland Settlement, 3. 


District Attorneys, 26. 

East Tennessee Settlers, 4. 

Education, County Superintendents 
of, 39 - 

Educational Spirit in the State, 40. 

Education, State Board of, 39. 

Equalization, Boards of, 46. 

Foreign Corporations, 48. 

Franklin, the State of, 3. 

General Assembly, 12 ; appropria¬ 
tions, 15 ; compensation of mem¬ 
bers, 14; general powers of restric¬ 
tion, 15 ; law-making, 13 ; organ¬ 
ization and procedure, 13. 

Governor, election and qualifications 
of, 16 ; veto, 16 ; powers and duties, 
17 . 

Governor’s Staff, 21. 

Hospitals for the Insane, 41. 

Industrial School, 42. 

Justices’ Courts, 2S. 

Mayor, 34, 

Municipal Corporations, 33. 

Municipal Corporations, Governing 
Body in, 34. 


49 



50 


INDEX 


Municipal Corporations, Power of 
Legislature over, 34. 

Municipal Courts, 28. 

Nollichucky Settlement, 1. 

North Carolina, 3. 

Penal Institutions, 43. 

Pensions, 43. 

Pioneers, the Character of, 6. 

Pupils, 38. 

Railroad Commissioner, 20. 

Railroad Companies, Taxation, 48. 
Ranger (the), 33. 

Recorder, 35. 

Register, 31. 

Revenue Agents, 19. 

Revenue Bills, 48. 

School Districts and Directors, 38. 
School for the Blind, 41. 

School for the Deaf and Dumb, 41. 
Schools, Common, 36. 

Schools, County Superintendent of, 
38. 

Schools, State Superintendent of, 37. 
Secession of Tennessee, 10. 

Secretary of State, 18. 


Sheriff (the), 30. 

State Board of Health, 20. 

State Librarian, 21. 

Supreme Court, 22. 

Tax Assessor, 32. 

Tax Collectors, 47. 

Taxation—Constitutional Provisions, 
44 - 

Taxation —Corporation, 46. 

Taxation—Merchants, 46. 

Taxation—Re-assessments, 46. 

Taxes—Delinquent, 47. 

Taxes—Exemptions, 47. 

Taxes, Lien for, 46. 

Teachers, 38. 

Telegraph Companies, Taxation, 48. 
Telephone Companies, Taxation, 48. 
Tennessee Admitted as a State, 7. 
Territory of Tennessee, 5. 

Text-Book Commission, 38. 
Treasurer, 18. 

Trustee, 31. 

Two Little Republics, 5. 

Union, Convention of, 1865, 10. 
University of Tennessee, 39. 

Watauga (the) Association, 1. 




















































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